Conjoined twin girls separated in 7-hour surgery
A pair of conjoint baby girls lie on a bed of the Children’s Hospital affiliated to Chongqing University of Medical Sciences on September 9, 2005 in Chongqing Municipality, China.
Conjoined 8-month-old twin girls were successfully separated in a 7-hour surgery at Philadelphia's Children's Hospital.
The girls, named Allison June and Amelia Lee Tucker, shared a chest wall, diaphragm, pericardium and liver, the Los Angeles Times reported. They hail from Adams, New York.
The surgery was the 21st conjoined twin separation performed by the hospital's surgeons.
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Lead surgeon Holly L. Hedrick led 40 cardiologists, plastic surgeons, and neonatal surgeons in the seven-hour operation, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“This has been one of the most incredible journeys for our family, but we are excited about the next phase in Allison’s and Amelia’s lives,” said the girls' mother Shellie Tucker in a press release.
"We expect that, with this complex surgery behind them, Allison and Amelia will receive the care, therapy and support to allow them to live full, healthy and independent lives,” said Dr. Hedrick.
More from GlobalPost: China: conjoined twins alive and growing stronger
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