PALO ALTO, Calif. — Twin 2-year-old girls joined at the chest and abdomen were separated Tuesday during a lengthy, complex procedure at Stanford University’s children’s hospital.
The operation that gave sisters Angelina and Angelica Sabuco their independence took more than nine hours and a team of more than 40 people.
By midafternoon, the girls had moved to their own operating rooms for the two-hour, second phase of surgery — reconstructing the area where they were connected.
“This is a dream come true,” their mother, Ginady Sabuco, told reporters through tears.
“The long-term prognosis is that we should have a happy, healthy set of girls. We don’t see any barrier to a full recovery,” said Dr. Gary Hartman, the lead surgeon on the case.
Born in the Philippines, Angelina and Angelica moved to the United States last year with their mother. They live in San Jose with their parents and 10-year-old brother. The girls learned to walk despite their face-to-face orientation and could recite colors and numbers.
But Hartman said staying connected would have posed long-term health risks.
The children were being kept sedated, and doctors said they could be awakened as early as today.
