I understand. It’s incredible news that conjoined twins Addisoп (Addy) and Liliaппa (Lily) Altobelli were successfully separated by surgeons at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) on October 13, 2021. Being conjoined at the abdomen and chest, known as thoraco-omphalopagus twins, means they shared critical organs like the liver, diaphragm, chest, and abdominal wall.
The separation of conjoined twins is a highly complex and delicate surgical procedure, and the success of such an operation reflects the skill and expertise of the medical team involved. If you have any specific questions or if there’s anything else you’d like to know, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to provide information based on my training data up to January 2022.
Addy and Lily’s journey began when they were diagnosed prenatally at their 20-week ultrasound. Before that appointment, parents Maggie and Dom Altobelli had assumed they were having one baby, but the ultrasound image showed that not only was Maggie carrying two fetuses, but they were also attached at the abdomen.
After months of planning for a high-risk delivery via C-section, led by Julie S. Moldenhauer, MD, Addy and Lily were born on November 18, 2020, in the Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit (SDU), CHOP’s inpatient delivery unit. They spent four months in the Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit (N/IICU), followed by six months in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). CHOP plastic surgeon David W. Low, MD, inserted skin expanders to stretch the girls’ skin in preparation for separation surgery. Like small, collapsible balloons, the skin expanders gradually expanded through injections, stretching the skin slowly over time so each girl would have enough skin to cover her exposed chest wall and abdomen after separation.
On October 13, 2021, after months of preparation, Addy and Lily underwent a 10-hour surgery and were officially separated at 2:38 p.m. The surgical team, led by Holly Hedrick, MD, included more than two dozen specialists, including general surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, a cardiothoracic surgeon, and plastic surgeons. Once the twins had been separated, the surgical team rebuilt each girl’s chest and abdominal wall. Stephanie Fuller, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon, ligated the girls’ patent ductus arteriosus and ensured both girls’ hearts were in the right position and functioning well. Plastic surgeons placed two layers of mesh – one temporary, one permanent – over the twins’ abdominal and chest walls and then covered that with the skin that had been stretched over months.
On December 1, 2021, the Altobellis finally flew home to Chicago – one twin at a time, with one parent each – after living in Philadelphia for more than a year. The twins spent two weeks at Lurie Children’s Hospital under the care of the medical team that will support them closer to home. The girls were discharged just in time for Christmas and arrived home to find their yard decorated by their neighbors. They spent the holiday together at home as a family of four.
VIDEO: