Doctors in Chile separate conjoined twins after 20 hours of surgery

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chilean doctors separated conjoined twin girls in a marathon 20-hour surgery, saying Wednesday that the operation went extremely well despite challenges.

The 10-month-old twins, Maria Paz and Maria Jose, lost a good deal of blood but were in stable condition and recovering in the intensive care unit at Luis Calvo Mackenna Hospital, chief surgeon Francisco Ossandon said.

Parents Jessica Navarrete and Roberto Paredes kept vigil at the hospital in Santiago as doctors separated the twins at the thorax, stomach and pelvis. It was the seventh and most complex operation yet for the twins.

"Both were successfully separated," Ossandon said at a news conference. "We had a number of difficulties during the surgery. There were some surprises, but we were able to fix, solve the problems."

He added that the twins came out of the surgery in good condition. Ossandon, however, didn't rule out future complications involving the effects from anesthesia and possible infections.

"We're very happy because we think they've had the best evolution we could have hoped for," Ossandon said.

Doctors said the twins were separated late Tuesday night. Surgery on one of the twins was completed in 19 hours, while for the other it took more than 20 hours.

Some Chilean television stations occasionally broke into their regular programming to broadcast updates from the doctors, both during and after the delicate surgery.

"The next 48 hours will be the most critical in terms of the ... risk they face of dying," said Dr. Carlos Acuna, chief of the intensive care unit. He said the girls faced risks of various organs ceasing to function and also had kidney and lung problems.

The Chilean twins presented a difficult challenge because they were born sharing many of the same internal organs.

About 100 people participated in the procedure, including 25 surgeons and anesthesiologists.

Perhaps providing some comfort to the parents was the hospital's history with conjoined twins. Staff there have separated three sets before. A fourth set, however, died during surgery due to cardiac complications.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, one out of every 200,000 live births worldwide results in conjoined twins. About 35 percent survive only one day, while the overall survival rate is 5 percent to 25 percent.

The twins were born in the Villarrica hospital about 470 miles (760 kilometers) south of Santiago and were kept under constant medical care, surviving with the aid of an artificial respirator.

Earlier this year, doctors separated the twins' legs, urinary tracts, pulmonary systems and other parts of their bodies.

The girls were connected to a respirator Wednesday and are to remain sedated for at least 72 hours.

Ossandon said the twins will return to the operating room every two or three days so that doctors can clean their wounds.

They were born in February. Ossandon called the surgery their "rebirth."