Texas Conjoined Twins Face Intestinal Surgery
Girls Share Liver, Six-Chambered Heart
UPDATED: 12:59 pm EDT July 29, 2003
SAN ANTONIO -- Doctors in San Antonio caring for conjoined twin girls say they will operate on the infants following their premature births. 
The repair surgery by pediatric surgeons at Wilford Hall Medical Center, where twins Brynleigh and Victoria Smith were born, is tentatively planned for Friday. The procedure's goal is to repair a defect in the girls' intestines, which were exposed on the outside of their conjoined bodies when they were born on Friday. The condition, called a gastroschisis, is correctable and not life-threatening. The twins, conjoined from their chest area to their belly, share a six-chambered heart, a liver and possibly part of their intestines. Doctors at the Lackland Air Force Base hospital have determined the twins are inseparable because of their complex heart connections. Brynleigh and Victoria remained in critical but stable condition early Tuesday. They are each breathing with help of a ventilator. "The plan is to slowly wean them off the ventilator as they tolerate it and as their lungs improve," Dr. Brian Hall, Wilford Hall's chief of neonatal services, said at a news conference Monday. "At this point, the heart, again, appears to be providing adequate support."The pair arrived about five weeks early. "They are not moving around too much, but for the most part, they're cute little girls," said Capt. Randy Claxton, Wilford Hall neonatal ICU nurse. "They're facing each other. One arm over the other. So it looks like they're hugging each other, which is a nice little scene."Doctors said the twins may be able to live into their 20s or 30s if their conditions continue to improve."Their future is still unknown, but we will accept every moment with them, as a gift," said Debbie Gibson, the twin's paternal grandmother. "And be grateful that we could be part of this miracle."
The repair surgery by pediatric surgeons at Wilford Hall Medical Center, where twins Brynleigh and Victoria Smith were born, is tentatively planned for Friday. The procedure's goal is to repair a defect in the girls' intestines, which were exposed on the outside of their conjoined bodies when they were born on Friday. The condition, called a gastroschisis, is correctable and not life-threatening. The twins, conjoined from their chest area to their belly, share a six-chambered heart, a liver and possibly part of their intestines. Doctors at the Lackland Air Force Base hospital have determined the twins are inseparable because of their complex heart connections. Brynleigh and Victoria remained in critical but stable condition early Tuesday. They are each breathing with help of a ventilator. "The plan is to slowly wean them off the ventilator as they tolerate it and as their lungs improve," Dr. Brian Hall, Wilford Hall's chief of neonatal services, said at a news conference Monday. "At this point, the heart, again, appears to be providing adequate support."The pair arrived about five weeks early. "They are not moving around too much, but for the most part, they're cute little girls," said Capt. Randy Claxton, Wilford Hall neonatal ICU nurse. "They're facing each other. One arm over the other. So it looks like they're hugging each other, which is a nice little scene."Doctors said the twins may be able to live into their 20s or 30s if their conditions continue to improve."Their future is still unknown, but we will accept every moment with them, as a gift," said Debbie Gibson, the twin's paternal grandmother. "And be grateful that we could be part of this miracle."Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
