The twins after the surgery
(Picture: via REUTERS)One-year-old conjoined twins have been separated in a successful surgery in Israel.
The two twin girls, who were joined at the back of the head, were separated in a rare surgery lasting 12 hours which allowed the siblings to see each other for the first time.
The procedure took place at Soroka Medical Centre in Be’er Sheva and included cranial reconstruction and scalp grafts which came after months of planning.
Dozens of experts from Israel and abroad were involved in the operation.
The girls, who have not been named, are said to be recovering well.
Eldad Silberstein, the head of the hospital’s plastic surgery department, told Israel’s Channel 12 news: "They are recovering nicely. They are breathing and eating on their own."
Video footage from the hospital showed the twins lying in their cot with bandages around their heads.
Dr Owase Jeelani, a paediatric neurosurgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, who was also involved, added: "It has gone extremely well, I’m delighted how well the whole team has done, it’s an excellent team here and it’s been a real pleasure to be a part of it."
It is the first time the unique separation surgery has been carried out in Israel and is thought to have only been conducted 20 times worldwide.
