Conjoined twin girls are separated at Children's Hospital

Surgeons at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Wednesday successfully separated 8-month-old twin girls who were joined at the lower chest and abdomen, the hospital announced.

The twins, Allison June and Amelia Lee Tucker, are from Adams, N.Y., but have been at Children's since their birth by planned cesarean section on March 1. They shared their chest wall, diaphragm, heart sac, and liver - organs that made them good candidates for separation, said lead surgeon Holly L. Hedrick.

Hedrick led 40 medical professionals from specialties including cardiology, plastic surgery, and neonatology in the seven-hour operation, which climaxed months of planning.

One of the many procedures to prepare the twins involved inserting skin expanders to increase the skin available to cover their chests and abdomens after separation.

Their parents, Shellie and Greg Tucker, first learned that the twins were conjoined about 20 weeks into the pregnancy. "This has been one of the most incredible journeys for our family, but we are excited about the next phase in Allison's and Amelia's lives," their mother said in a statement.

The infants will be closely followed in the coming months by developmental pediatricians, nutritionists, and other specialists.

Their prognosis, Hedrick said, is excellent: "We expect . . . them to live full, healthy and independent lives."

The Tucker girls were the 21st set of conjoined twins to be separated at Children's.