can be seen for the first time

Soroka Medical Center in southern Israel successfully performed a rare operation to separate a few one-year-old twins who were connected by the head. The operation lasted 12 hours and was performed by 50 members of the hospital’s medical staff, as well as international experts, the hospital said.

Girls were born in August 2020 tied to the back of the head. In recent months, they have undergone extensive testing and before surgery they were under close medical supervision by the hospital, especially on cardiac and respiratory functions, the medical center added.

In surgery, doctors separated the twins’ brains and blood vessels, then recovered the skull, meninges, and skin.

Mickey Gideon, director of Soroka’s pediatric neurosurgery department, said that “the rare operation went perfectly,” adding that he hopes the twins “make a full recovery.”

So far, only 20 such operations have been performed worldwide, the surgeon said, according to the Israeli news portal Mako.

The separation means that the girls, who have not been publicly named, now they can be seen for the first time. The girls were born in August 2020 and were strapped to the back of the head, a rare condition called craniopagus twins, according to the Jerusalem Post

A team of around 50 medical professionals, including surgeons from the UK and the US, had been training for the surgery for about a year, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

Using imaging techniques, CT scans and angiograms, the team created a 3D virtual reality model of the girls’ shared brain structures, skull bones, skin and blood vessels, according to Mako. .

In the months leading up to the operation, silicone sacs inserted into the twins’ heads were periodically inflated to stretch the skin, which was then used to close the head, the BBC reported.

After the operation, the twins’ father told Channel 12 that I was delighted to be able to lift the girls individually for the first time.

The girls are also recovering well, said Eldad Silberstein, head of the plastic surgery department at Soroka Medical Center, Reuters reported.