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A pair of conjoined twin boys were successfully separated after spending nearly a year at a children’s hospital in Philadelphia - andare now ready for their own beds.
Amari and Javar Ruffin underwent surgery in late August at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. They shared the lowest part of their sternum diaphragm, abdominal wall and liver. They had been diagnosed prenatally and spent 10 months following their births in September 2023 preparing for the operation.
A surgical team of more than two dozen specialists, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, nurses and others worked for eight hours in the operating room. The children’s parents, Tim and Shaneka, turned to the hospital to perform the surgery. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has become renowed for its seperation surgies; it has preformed 32 since 1957.
“Separating conjoined twins always presents challenges because each set of twins is different,” Holly L Hedrick, a pediatric general and fetal surgeon at hospital said.
“We spend hours rehearsing the flow of surgery prior to the big day – even practicing how to transfer each baby to their own bed. We work collaboratively as a team, ready to combine our unique skills to achieve a safe separation and a chance for these babies to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.”
After their separation, the team closed the babies’s abdomens and rebuilt their systems, using layers of mesh and plastic surgery techniques to stabilize each one, according to the hospital.
The medical team even created belly buttons for each of the boys.
The babies spent time before and after their surgery working with physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and rehab medicine physicians to ensure they would go on to reach developmental milestones like flipping over and crawling.
The boys remained in the hospital for months after their surgery, only heading home on October 8.
“Seeing them each in their own beds was an indescribable feeling,” their mom said. “It feels like we are beginning a new journey as a family of six.”
