Update: two of a kind. (Special Report).

Nearly five months ago, 17-month-old twin sisters Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez lay hospitalized, conjoined at the head. The rare birth defect made it impossible for the girls to walk, sit upright, or even turn to smile at one another. Their only hope for a normal life: a groundbreaking but highly risky operation to separate their skulls. (See "Separating Sisters: Inside the Groundbreaking Surgery," SW 11/21/2002).

Last August, a 50-person medical team performed the 22-hour surgery at UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital. Afterward, the two Marias lay in separate beds for the first time--the operation a landmark success. As of December, the Marias were "adjusting better than we expected," said UCLA's chief plastic surgeon Dr. Henry Kawamoto. Only minor problems have kept the girls hospitalized: Maria Jesus is recovering from a small infection on her scalp where surgeons grafted skin to the back of her head; and a slight hearing deficiency has been detected in one of Maria Teresa's ears, perhaps due to the surgery. Still, doctors say the girls are healing well enough to return to their home in Guatemala by Christmas. "We expect to see sibling rivalry soon," said Kawamoto.