US News
Doctors begin operation to separate twins
Aug 7, 2006, 19:21 GMT
Salt Lake City - Surgeons operated Monday in Salt Lake City to separate a pair of 4-year-old conjoined twins who share a kidney and other vital organs.
The surgery at Primary Children's Hospital began shortly after 7 am and was expected to last 12 to 24 hours. It was billed as the first separation attempt on twins with a shared kidney. Kendra and Maliyah Herrin are joined at mid-torso and also share a liver, a pelvis, a pair of legs and part of the large intestine.
If the surgery is successful, the twins will each have one leg, with Kendra getting the kidney and Maliyah getting a kidney transplant from her mother. Surgeons also plan to bisect the girls' liver, separate their intestines and reconstruct their pelvis.
Despite the risks of the complicated surgery, the family said they had decided to go ahead because the girls saw themselves as living separate lives as adults.
'We are shedding many tears today,' said a posting on the family's website. 'Not so much because we are scared or nervous, but because we are mourning their last day conjoined.'
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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