PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Twin brothers who were born conjoined recently celebrated their first birthday after undergoing successful separation surgery.
Amari and Javar Ruffin, whose family lives in Philadelphia, were born via cesarean section on Sept. 29, 2023. The brothers weighed a combined 6 pounds. Dr. Holly Hedrick, a pediatric general and fetal surgeon at the hospital says the twins were joined at the lowest part of their sternum, diaphragm, abdominal wall, and liver.
"[The liver] is the largest organ in our bodies. The really nice thing, though, is that they had equal parts, and the equal parts were normal size. So the
vasculature was very identifiable through the ultrasound so it was the perfect scenario."
They spent 10 months getting prepared for surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to get separated from each other, which took place about 2 1/2 weeks ago.
On Aug. 21, a surgical team at Children's Hospital with more than two dozen specialists, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, nurses, and many others, operated for eight hours to separate the boys. Their abdomens were closed and rebuilt using layers of mesh and plastic surgery techniques.
The boys went home on Tuesday to be with their parents, Tim and Shaneka, and their siblings, Kaylum and Anora.
"Seeing them each in their own beds was an indescribable feeling," Shaneka Ruffin said. "It feels like we are beginning a new journey as a family of six. We are so grateful to CHOP for helping make this day possible and letting us start this next chapter."
The Ruffins learned the twins were conjoined through a routine ultrasound 12 weeks into the pregnancy. Shaneka Ruffin said it was recommended to her that she terminate her pregnancy. They got a second opinion, and the hospital told them that though the boys had a rare condition, they could be separated successfully.
The Ruffins say they were reassured that everything would be okay by the staff from he very beginning.
"So after we we done the ultra sound, and we sat down with Dr. Hedrick and the rest of the team, and they was like, 'Oh — this is easy.' And we're still like: Really? Like, okay. ... They were excited," Shaneka said.
"And the energy changed," Tim said. "And that changed all of us, as far as how confident it was and how positive it was. It started to get my spirits back up."
Conjoined twins occur roughly once in every 35,000-80,000 births. The hospital is one of only a few in the U.S. with expertise in separating them. Since 1957, the hospital has performed 32 conjoined twin separations, the most of any hospital in North America.