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Conjoined twins fused at nape successfully separated in Italy

The doctors say that the separation required meticulous reconstruction of the brain blood supply system

ROME, July 7. /TASS/. Doctors of the Vatican Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) hospital have successfully performed a surgery to separate conjoined twins from the Central African Republic (CAR) fused in the nape area. As the ANSA agency reported on Tuesday, the most complex surgery, the first of its kind in Italy and a unique one worldwide, lasted for 18 hours.

The preparations for the decisive surgical intervention which was performed on June 5 lasted a year. Two other surgeries had preceded it — in May and June of last year. On June 29, the twin girls named Ervina and Prefina, turned two. For now, they are undergoing rehabilitation at the neurosurgery ward of the renowned children’s hospital which is located in Rome yet is administrated by the Vatican. The doctors say that the twins had the rarest kind of fusing since they were joined by their skulls. Their separation required meticulous reconstruction of the brain blood supply system. The girls are in good health.