Conjoined baby girls separated in 26-hour marathon surgery

WATCH ABOVE: It took 26 hours but Hope and Faith were separated successfully. Allison Vuchnich has the remarkable story.

Conjoined 10-month-old twins Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata, were separated successfully after a difficult and complicated surgery.

The medical team at Texas Children’s Hospital had to separate the babies from the chest, lungs, the lining of the heart, diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon and pelvis. It took a team of 30 and months of careful planning.

“This surgery was not without its challenges with the girls sharing several organ systems,” said Dr. Darrell Cass, pediatric surgeon and co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center. “Our team has been preparing for this surgery for months, and we’ve done everything from working with our radiology experts to build a 3-D model of their organs, to conducting simulations of the actual separation surgery.”

During the marathon 26-hour surgery on February 17 their parents and family wore shirts that said “Hope & Faith.”

Doctors admit there were some complications but it was a resounding success.

“We had some challenges there we had to work through,” said Dr. Cass after the surgery. With a big smile he added, “it’s pretty cool to see them coming out with their own bed.”

The girls are recovering in hospital, but will most likely need additional surgeries at a later date.

According to the Mayo Clinic, roughly 40 to 60 per cent of conjoined twins die in the womb, and less than half of those born alive survive long enough to make it to surgery.

In this case, it was Hope and Faith.

For updates on Hope and Faith’s journey you can visit their Facebook page. The family has also set up a GoFundMe page to assist with medical costs.