China: Siamese twins aged three months, who were born attached to the lower spine and hips, were separated successfully by surgery that was aided by 3D advanced printing technology. In most cases, conjoined twins are connected to the abdomen or chest face to face with each other, but in this extraordinary situation, the twins were connected at the lower spine and were back to back. With the aid of technology, the doctors were able to perform accurate simulation of the spine, which helped them operate during the operation.
A team of ten surgeons, among them experts in plastic surgery, neurosurgery and orthopedics, participated in the complex surgery of separating the spine, which lasted about three hours. Zheng Shan, lead surgeon and vice-president of the Fudan University Hospital, noted that the assistance of innovative printing techniques was extremely helpful in improving their performance and saving the twins. “The hardest part was the separation and reconnection of the nerves,” she said. The doctors say that girls can expect to live a normal life like everyone else, after the surgery was declared a success.
