LABOR OF LOVE DOCTORS WORK TO SEPARATE GIRLS.Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer WESTWOOD - Year-old sisters blew kisses to their parents Monday before undergoing risky marathon surgery to separate the twins, who were joined at the skull. The conjoined twins conjoined twins or Siamese twins Identical twins (see multiple birth) whose embryos did not separate completely. Conjoined twins are physically joined (typically along the trunk or at the front, side, or back of the head) and often share some organs. , who arrived from Guatemala nearly two months ago, were wheeled into the operating room operating room n. Abbr. OR A room equipped for performing surgical operations. just before 8 a.m., and the actual surgery began about 2 p.m. The first-time parents, neither of whom speaks English, faced a painfully long wait. The complex and uncertain procedure was expected to last late into the evening. ``We know there are certain risks,'' Wenceslao Quiej Lopez, the babies' father, said in Spanish. ``It has already been 365 days, and the day is here. It would be a great happiness for us to be able to return to Guatemala with them. ``By the grace of God ... we are waiting and hoping that everything turns out well.'' Also waiting and hoping were members of a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. , Healing the Children, that arranges medical care for children across the globe and facilitated the twins' surgery at Mattel Children's Hospital A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties. at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. . It was a first for the hospital. Cris Embleton of Valencia, who co-founded the group in 1979 and is executive director of the California chapter, flew to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. with the girls and their mother, Alba Leticia Alvarez, and has since spent nearly every day at the hospital. The young family spent moments playing together before what could be 24 hours of surgery. ``We know there are risks, but we also know there's a lot of hope,'' Embleton said. ``The parents each carried a girl in their arms and were rocking back and forth (this morning). The girls were laughing, giggling, blowing kisses. These girls are just unbelievable.'' The girls are joined at the top of the skull, and they face opposite directions. They share bone and blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. , but their brains are not meshed. While reports vary, it is estimated that conjoined twins occur once in every 1 million births. Craniopagus - Latin for ``fixed at the head'' - occurs in just 2 percent of those conjoined twins. Doctors were not able to assess whether both twins would survive the operation until neurosurgeons began their work. The riskiest step was in separating the veins that connect the front of each girl's head to the back of the other. Doctors aimed to reroute the flow of blood to the brain of each twin to avoid the risk of stroke, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX neurosurgeon neurosurgeon a physician who specializes in neurosurgery. neurosurgeon A surgeon specialized in managing diseases of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves Meat & potatoes diseases Brain tumors, spinal cord disease Salary $245K + 15% bonus. Dr. Itzhak Fried said. The twins' 21-year-old father, who packs bananas in rural Guatemala, arrived a few days before the surgery. His wife, the oldest of 10 children and unable to read or write, has spent many nights in a chair in their daughters' hospital room and has grown wary of media attention, both local and international. Bette Billet, a head pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. nurse who has spent a lot of time with the babies' 23-year-old mother, said she has shown enormous strength and poise in a difficult situation despite lack of education or sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. . ``She's a strong woman of extreme inner majesty,'' Billet said. ``She's very sharp, very quick. This would be hard for any parent, but she has been very strong. These are her babies.'' Unlike most brain surgeries, the procedure - which doctors said could last longer than 24 hours including prep time, anesthesia and dealing with any unexpected complications - requires doubles of everything, from monitors and breathing equipment to two teams of anesthesiologists. Everything in the operating room was marked in yellow or blue to distinguish each baby's team and equipment. Blue stickers are for Maria Teresa, the larger baby who is known for her giggles and sloppy raspberry kisses. Yellow is for her sister, Maria de Jesus Maria de Jesus dos Santos (born September 10, 1893) is a Portuguese supercentenarian, and, as of August 13, 2007, the second-oldest person in the world. She has been the oldest verified living person in Portugal since the death of fellow 114-year-old Maria do Couto Maia-Lopes on , the more serious and demanding of the two. Dr. Barbara Van de Weile, director of neurosurgical anesthesia for the hospital, said the procedure is a nation-spanning collaborative effort among specialists. ``This will be a challenging (anesthesia) for us because there are two of them,'' Van de Weile said Sunday night, as she and her team prepared the operating room. ``This is completely unique and extremely rare.'' The procedure was delayed several weeks while doctors monitored ``balloon'' implants, needed to stretch the twins' skin so there would be enough scalp to cover both their brains once they were separated. Dozens of health-care providers at UCLA - anesthesiologists, plastic surgeons and nurses - have volunteered their services, while UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. will fund the surgery. UCLA Medical Center physicians are donating their services, but the cost for hospitalization and use of equipment is still expected to top $1.5 million, hospital officials said. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Preparations were under way Sunday for the surgery that began about 2 p.m. Monday to separate twins joined at the head. John McCoy/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) Twins are wheeled into surgery Monday. Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez faces the camera while her sister, Maria de Jesus, is turned the other way. Krista Niles/Associated Press (3) Teams rehearse Sunday at UCLA Medical Center for surgery Monday to separate conjoined twins. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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