Utah conjoined twins separated

Surgeons in Salt Lake City have successfully separated two 4-year-old twin sisters born joined at the abdomen.

After nearly 16 hours of surgery, Maliyah and Kendra Herrin were separated from one another at the Primary Children's Medical Center late Monday night, the Deseret News reported. However, each required several more hours of surgery, as they shared a liver, pelvis and part of the large intestine.

While more than 12 pairs of twins joined in the abdomen have been successfully separated in the past 20 years, surgeons said they have not found another separation surgery that involved a single kidney.

Dr. Rebecka Meyers, coordinating surgeon and chief of pediatric surgery, said because Maliyah has no kidney, the separation surgery was delayed as infants typically don't do very well on dialysis. Meyers said they had to wait until Maliyah was big enough to receive a donor kidney.

Hospital spokeswoman Bonnie Midget said while the girls were taken to separate rooms initially, by the time they wake up, they will be close enough to see and perhaps touch each other.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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