Conjoined twin sisters have died just minutes apart while enduring a gruelling 15-hour operation to separate them. <\/p>\n
Helo\u00edsa and Helena Batista da Silva, from Roraima, Brazil, were born craniopagus, meaning twins joined at the head, sharing brain tissue and blood vessels. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a rare form of conjoined twin, happening one in every 2.5 million live births worldwide. <\/p>\n
A vast majority are born still or pass away within 24 hours of birth. <\/p>\n
Currently, survival rates for separating twins with the condition are at 50 to 60 per cent for at least one twin. <\/p>\n
For the last two years the girls been monitored by a medical team at a hospital in Brazil. <\/p>\n
The two-year-old sisters had completed four successful surgeries over the last year, with this fifth and final procedure hoped to have been their final separation. <\/p>\n
The girls were the third set of craniopagus twins to have been treated at the hospital. <\/p>\n
More than 50 medical and support staff were involved, working tirelessly toward their desired outcome. <\/p>\n
Only minutes, after the girls were separated their condition took a turn and rapidly deteriorated. <\/p>\n
Suddenly the youngsters began to suffer haemodynamic instability, or insufficient blood flow to vital organs, which can result in multiple organ failure and death. <\/p>\n
During the operation one of the twins developed low pressure, while the other had high blood pressure. <\/p>\n
Tragically, both of the girls died as the result of a heart attack just 14 minutes apart. <\/p>\n
Doctors fought to save their lives, working to resuscitate them for 25 minutes before sadly pronouncing them both dead. <\/p>\n
A plastic surgeon on the girls\u2019 medical team explained both of the twins had experienced sickness for most of their lives and their bodies were weakened. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey had many bouts of pneumonia, they had a tracheostomy, they needed a gastrostomy for feeding, and they had episodes that also weakened their bodies,\u201d said Jayme Farina J\u00fanior, a plastic surgeon on the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the moment of the final separation, their bodies could not withstand this instability, and then they progressed to cardiac arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the first three surgeries 75 per cent of the twins\u2019 shared brain tissue and blood vessels were successfully separated. <\/p>\n
While their fourth saw doctors use tissue expanders so that they could increase the amount of skin needed for closing their skulls ahead of the final separation operation. <\/p>\n
The nation\u2019s public healthcare system fully funded all of their treatments, with zero cost to their family. <\/p>\n
The sisters were laid to rest the day following their surgery, nearby the family home. <\/p>\n
Father, Amarildo Batista da Silva, extended his thanks to the doctors and hospital staff who tried their best to save his daughters. <\/p>\n
He said he doesn\u2019t blame them for the heartbreaking outcome. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery child you lose is a defeat, every child you manage to save is a victory,\u201d the father said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sure you have far more victories than defeats, so this does not become a defeat.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Conjoined twin sisters have died just minutes apart while enduring a gruelling 15-hour operation to separate them. 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