Cook Children’s Medical Center makes history with successful separation of conjoined twin sisters. JamieLynn and AmieLynn’s 11-hour procedure was a triumph, reuniting them with overjoyed parents James Finley and Amanda Arciniega according to a Checkup Newsroom article. They say,
“Sisters JamieLynn and AmieLynn underwent surgery on Monday, becoming the first conjoined twins to be separated at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
Jamie and Amie lay face-to-face and shared a liver, which was successfully separated during the 11-hour procedure.
After the surgery, the girls returned to Cook Children’s NICU to begin their journey to recovery, this time on the road together, but separate.
Parents James Finley and Amanda Arciniega of Saginaw, Texas were overjoyed to reunite with their girls and see them in their separate cribs, laying on their backs for the first time on Monday evening.”
The medical team was divided into two groups, each wearing a different color scrub hat and focused on one twin. They used 3D models to plan and practice for the surgery, until finally, the director of perioperative services was able to tell the parents that they had two babies according to a Dallas Morning News article which says,
“So, the expansive team divided into two. One side wore green scrub hats and focused solely on AmieLynn, while the other team wore purple and focused solely on JamieLynn. They printed 3D models of the twins’ chest and practiced what before, during and after the surgery could look like.
With every specially tailored movement, the medical staff inched closer to the moment Valerie Gibbs, Cook Children’s director of perioperative services, could tell the twins’ parents the news they’d waited months to hear: “You have two babies.”
The medical staff behind JamieLynn and Amielynn’s successful separation surgery formed a close bond with the parents and were moved to tears at a news conference. The support extended beyond the medical team to include friends, family, and even Bishop T.D. Jakes who prayed with the family. The parents and their baby girls are now focused on recovery.
