Conjoined twin toddlers who were fused at the skull have survived a gruelling 20-hour operation to successfully separated them. The boys were worked on round the clock by specialist surgeons at the National Children’s Hospital in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Samuel and Ezequiel Nunez Badilla were born in December 2015, joined at the top of the skull and weighting a total of 4.75 kilogrammes – about 10.5 lbs.
During the life-changing surgery, Samuel lost a lot of blood and had to brought back to life twice.
Since birth, the twins have been subjected to numerous hospital trips and medical procedures as specialists made preparations for the complicated operation.
Although the two boys were not joined at the brain, they shared several key arteries and nerve fibres that connect the brain’s left and right hemispheres.
Despite the involvement of two teams of neurosurgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurses, medics and assistants working shifts in two operation rooms, the surgery was not without its complications.
Little Samuel continues to be in a critical condition.
