The operation was “executed to near perfection,” says Dr. James Thomas, chief of critical-care services at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Surgeons divided the boys’ veins, separated their skulls and grafted new skin onto their heads. To reduce the risk of brain swelling, the twins were kept in medically induced comas for a few days, but by the end of the week both boys were starting to move their arms and legs and open their eyes, and were listed in critical but stable condition. Both continued to suffer fevers; doctors remained vigilant about the risk of infection. “We’ve said all along that’s our biggest worry,” said Thomas.
Though they still face months of rehab, the Ibrahims’ overall prognosis looks promising. That’s good news to another team of doctors: this week surgeons at Montefiore Medical Center in New York plan to begin separating Carl and Clarence Aguirre, conjoined twins from the Philippines. If all goes well, they, too, will at last see eye to eye.
