Head of Clinical Services and Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England, Dr. Noor Ul Owase Jeelani led a team of 100 physicians in three procedures to separate craniopagus twins who were joined at the head, reports WGAL.
Four insights:
1. In an extremely rare case, the twin girls were born by cesarean section and emerged with their skulls and blood vessels joined together.
2. The physicians used virtual reality to generate a replica of the girls' anatomy so they could visualize their skulls and the positioning of their brains and blood vessels.
3. Once separated, a piece of plastic was used to keep the two structures apart.
4. Roughly 5 percent of conjoined twins are craniopagus cases and the chances of them undergoing surgery is about one in 10 million, according to GOSH's website.