A Successful Separation

Jan. 3, 2007— -- Following a 99-day hospital stay and a surgery that lasted more than six hours, a pair of formerly conjoined twins is recovering from the operation that separated them.

Before the surgery, 5-month-old conjoined twins Abygail and Madysen Fitterer, of Bismarck, N.D., were joined at the chest and shared their front chest wall.

The insides of their bodies were so intertwined that their livers had nearly fused into a single organ. And the surgeons said Madysen's heart was halfway inside her sister's chest.

Despite these complexities, a surgical team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., led by pediatric surgeon Dr. Christopher Moir succeeded in leaving each of the girls with the organs necessary for their survival.

Moir also led the teams that separated conjoined twin girls from Fargo, N.D., in May and twin boys from Mankato in November.

At a press conference held after the surgery, Moir said the surgery began at 9:50 a.m. CST.

At 12:27 p.m., Abygail and Madysen were placed on separate operating tables, successfully separated. The teams then began reconstructing the chest walls of both girls. Madysen's reconstruction was finished first at 3:36 p.m., while Abygail's was completed at 4:05 p.m.

The parents of the twins, Stacy and Suzy Fitterer, said at the press conference that they were relieved at the results of the procedure.

"I don't think we've ever felt so strong and so weak," Suzy Fitterer said. "I don't know how you thank people for giving not one but two of your children a chance at a normal life."

"These are phenomenal surgeries," Moir said. "Every surgery is different, every surgery has its own complexities, and Abby and Maddie certainly gave us some complexities to deal with.

"I think how we rate it, it's off the scale, you just can't rate these surgeries from the complexity and as well as from the teamwork."

Moir and Dr. Joseph Dearani, the cardiovascular surgeon involved in the operation, said the most difficult part of the operation had to do with their hearts.