Formerly conjoined twins recovering at hospital

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A set of 2-year-old twins who were joined from the breastbone to the pelvis have successfully been separated and are recovering at a hospital, doctors at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh said Monday.

Conjoined twins occur in about 1 out of 100,000 births. But the case of Dagian and Danielle Lee was even more unusual because of the way they were joined — a condition known as “ischiopagus tripus,” Dr. Timothy Kane, one of the doctors who took part in the procedure, said at a news conference Monday.

Probably only 20 ischiopagus tripus twins have been separated in the world, he said.

The twins underwent a 24-hour surgery that began Dec. 13 — two days before their birthday — and involved more than 50 medical personnel. It was the first time doctors at the hospital had separated conjoined twins.

“Currently, the twins are doing very well. They’re happy and healthy and will be discharged soon,” said Dr. Joseph Losee, who led the team.

Because the girls were joined at the pelvis, each has only one leg. Prosthetics are a possibility, doctors said. They also shared a third nonfunctioning leg, and tissue from it was used in reconstruction.

Their mother, Catherine Nickson, 26, of Cleveland, said she didn’t realize she was pregnant when she went to the doctor complaining of pain. She had been told after her first child that she was unable to have any more children.

She said she thought doctors were joking at first.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, I think you’re pregnant.’ I’m like, ha, ha. And then they did an ultrasound and are like, ‘I see two heads.’ And I’m like, ha, ha, that’s not funny. And then it was, ‘They’re conjoined.’ And I didn’t say anything,” she said. She underwent a Caesarean section about five hours later.

The girls underwent more than 10 procedures over 18 months to prepare for the surgery. Those included having water balloons placed under their skin for gradual stretching so that it could be used for reconstruction after separation.

The girls may have lived long lives without being separated, but Nickson said she wanted to give them the best lives they could have.

“I wanted to have three kids, not two, or one,” Nickson said. She also has an older daughter, Dayloni, who’s 3.

Nickson said the experience has inspired her to become a nurse.