Conjoined twin babies 'great' after separation

REGINA and Renata Salinas Fierros were "doing great" after doctors separated the ten-month-old conjoined twins and rebuilt their bodies during a day-long operation, a hospital spokeswoman said yesterday.

The twins were transferred to side-by-side beds in an intensive care unit after the surgery was completed, Janet Dotson, spokeswoman for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said. She added: "The girls are doing great."

The children were born facing each other, joined from the lower chest to the pelvis. Their bodies were fused in several places, including the liver and genitals; they shared a large intestine, and Regina was born with only one kidney.

During the operation, doctors made an incision at the breastbone and then divided the internal organs.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, the babies spent their first moments apart when one was wheeled to another room so plastic surgeons could begin the reconstruction work.

Despite the risks, doctors said they expected a successful operation. Several hours into the surgery, surgical director Dr Henri Ford said: "Everything has been going [as] impeccably, as one could possibly imagine."

The twins were born in Los Angeles on 2 August, 2005, to Mexican parents who were visiting relatives in the US. The girls' mother, 23-year-old Sonia, said she did not realise she was carrying conjoined twins until she was hospitalised with an infection.

The couple extended their tourist visa so that the twins could receive medical care.