Doctors Separate Conjoined Twins in Seattle

S E A T T L E, Oct. 1, 2000 -- Doctors at a Seattle hospitaltoday separated 7-month-old twin girls joined from thebreastbone to the pelvis and were optimistic about theirchances for survival, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Charity and Kathleen Lincoln, born Feb. 21 in Seattle, wereseparated at 6:28 a.m., following surgery that hadbegun at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, said Georgia Taylor,a spokeswoman for Children’s Hospital and Regional MedicalCenter in Seattle.

“They were connected at the breastbone,” she said. “Thesurgeons successfully divided the liver, bowel, bladder, pelvisand lower extremities.”

Taylor said the girls were still in surgery as of lateSunday morning but the procedure was expected to be finished inthe afternoon.

She said the pediatric specialists, representing surgery,urology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, anesthesiology andradiology, were optimistic that both girls would survive.

Some 30 doctors, nurses and other staff participated in thesurgery.

Both girls should be able to lead relatively normal lives,although each will have only one leg, Taylor said.

Girls Given an 85 Percent ChanceGoing into the surgery, Dr. Richard Molteni, medicaldirector at Children’s, told the Seattle Times the girls had an85 percent chance of survival.

Charity and Kathleen are “ischiopagus tripus” conjoinedtwins, one of the rarest kinds. Only 18 sets of such twins hadbeen recorded in medical literature as of 1997.

The girls shared part of their large intestine and one ofthree legs, which was removed. Their two livers and bladdersalso appeared to be fused.

To prepare for the separation, doctors implanted plasticdevices in the girls’ chests in June to stretch and expandtissue in the area. They will require many operations in theyears ahead to repair portions of their body affected by theseparation, Molteni said.

Echoes of British CaseThe surgery took place as British doctors and courtsgrappled with the case of 7-week-old conjoined twins whoseparents do not want them separated. Doctors said that bothgirls, known only as Jodie and Mary, would probably die withoutthe operation. Separation would probably allow Jodie, thestronger twin, to survive.

A three-judge British Court of Appeal panel ruled Sept.22 that doctors could legally separate the girls against theirparents’ wishes.

The parents, who live in Malta, have decided not tochallenge the court’s order.