Conjoined twin more alert after surgery

LOS ANGELES -- One of the conjoined Guatemalan twins separated in a 22-hour operation grew more alert Sunday as she continued to recover from a second follow-up surgery.

Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez, who underwent more than three hours of surgery Friday, was breathing with a ventilator and remained under moderate sedation, a UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital spokesman said. Both she and her sister, Maria de Jesus, remained in serious but stable condition.

Surgeons drained an accumulation of blood that doctors believed may have been contributing to a bacterial infection in the lining of Maria Teresa's brain.

She underwent five hours of surgery for a similar buildup of blood after the 1-year-olds were separated Aug. 6. Maria de Jesus has not required follow-up surgery.

The twins were born joined at the head in rural Guatemala. Before their operation, they shared bone and blood vessels but had separate brains.