Egyptian conjoined twins to be separated

Dallas - Twin Egyptian boys joined at the crown of their heads will undergo separation surgery in Dallas starting early Saturday in what is expected to be a lengthy and risky operation that could result in death, hospital officials said on Friday.

Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, who are a little over two years old, will undergo surgery at Children's Medical Center of Dallas and they will be the first twins conjoined at the head to be surgically separated since two Iranian women joined at the head died in a Singapore hospital in July.

Doctors have said the youth of the Egyptian boys gives them an advantage of surviving surgery. As children, they have greater plasticity than adults, making it easier for their bones and tissue to undergo the strain of the operation and recovery.

The two boys share a band of curly hair that circles the area where their heads are fused. They cannot stand because of the way their bodies are joined, and the two of them are over six feet in length from the toes of one twin to the toes of the other.

The Iranian twins, Laleh and Ladan Bijani, 29, died on July 8 from massive blood loss after a 52-hour operation by 28 specialists at Singapore's Raffles Hospital.

The Egyptian boys have been in Dallas for over a year and undergone a series intensive diagnostic testing and planning for the upcoming surgery, which will be led by Dr. Kenneth Salyer, a top facial and cranial surgeon at Medical City Dallas.

The boys share large veins called venous sinuses that drain blood out of the brain. They also share some brain material, which could be divided without causing much harm. But if their circulatory systems are not properly separated, it could kill them, doctors say.

If they are not separated, the boys will likely never be able to walk because of their way their bodies are joined.

In April, the boys underwent a procedure to have balloon-like devices inserted into the areas where they will be separated. The pouches were also inserted into their thighs in order to expand tissue there that will be removed and used to keep their brains from being exposed after separation surgery.

Salyer has told reporters that separation would be exceedingly hazardous. However, after a year of testing, planning and consultations, the medical team was confident it could be done.

Guatemalan twin girls, who are about the same age as the Egyptian boys, were separated at the skull a year ago at a hospital in Los Angeles. The girls have suffered some setbacks, but survived their operation.

The parents of the Egyptian twins have said they are sure that the only way to bring normalcy to the lives of the boys is through separation surgery.

Ahmed and Mohamed were born in a small town 500 miles south of Cairo on June 2, 2001, and have been under medical care almost all of their lives. The two boys are healthy, alert, playful, and are starting to learn a few words.

Conjoined twins account for about one of every 2.5 million births and twins joined at the head account for about 2 percent of all conjoined births. -- Reuters

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