Twin sisters in the United States who were born conjoined at the abdomen are now home, one month after a successful surgery to separate them.
According to Goodmorningamerica, Ella Grace and Eliza Faith Fuller were discharged on Tuesday from Texas Children’s Hospital, where they had been cared for in the neo-natal intensive care unit since their birth in March.
“It’s hard to explain in words exactly how excited we are,” the twins’ dad Jesse Fuller said in a video shared by Texas Children’s Hospital.
“It’s been 134 days, so the feelings are overwhelming.”
The twins’ mom Sandy Fuller said she was “completely shocked” when she found out she was pregnant with twins. She described it as a “hard and difficult” time when she and her husband found out their twin daughters were conjoined.
She said, “[When] we found out they were conjoined, it was hard and difficult, but we trusted that God was going to work in the entire journey, so it was OK.”
Sandy Fuller gave birth to Ella and Eliza on March 1 at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. The girls each weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces at birth.
In addition to sharing an abdomen, the sisters also shared liver tissues, according to the hospital.
As Ella and Eliza spent the next three months being cared for in the NICU, a team of 17 medical professionals, including seven surgeons and four anesthesiologists, prepared for their complex separation surgery.
In a statement issued by the lead surgeon on the operation and a pediatric surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital, Dr. Alice King said, “Our team began planning and preparing for this operation before these babies were even born.
“From conducting simulations of the procedure, to collaborating extensively with our colleagues in anesthesiology, maternal-fetal medicine, neonatology and radiology, we have all been working together to achieve one common goal: the best outcome for Ella and Eliza.”
