Two sisters who were conjoined at birth are finally going home with their family after a successful separation surgery.
Ella Fuller and Eliza Fuller were born at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston on March 1. At just 12 weeks gestation, their parents, Sandy and Jesse Fuller, learned the twins were conjoined in the womb.
“Four weeks after we found out there were twins, we … confirmed that they were conjoined,” Sandy told TODAY. “We were shocked.”
As the babies grew, doctors were eventually able to determine that the girls were connected at the liver. “They each had their own (liver), and then it just fused together at where they met,” Jesse said. “So that was a blessing as well.”
Despite the fact that the twins were conjoined, the pregnancy continued well and doctors delivered the girls via C-section when Sandy was 35 weeks. “It was a beautiful experience because I just knew, ‘Oh my gosh, my babies that I’ve been carrying in here are now outside the womb,’” she said. “They’re good — and they immediately started to cry.”
After the birth, doctors worked on the plan to separate the girls surgically. Dr. Jonathan Davies co-leader of the conjoined twin clinical program at Texas Children’s Hospital, told TODAY that the early detection in the womb helped his team prepare for the surgery.
“I’ve been part of the team that (cared for them) starting before they were born up until going home,” Davies said. “We heard about the girls about four months before they were born, and we got our team together and started planning for every part of their hospitalization.”
“Conjoined twins offer new challenges, and each one is different,” he added.
READ: Conjoined twins with fused brains successfully separated in 27-hour surgery
When it came time for surgery, Dr. Alice King led a team of 17 surgical staff in separating the babies, during a procedure that lasted six hours. “They’re so rare that there’s no playbook,” King told TODAY. “In the back of my mind, I always have my plan A, B, and then all the way down to like L, M, N.”
Thankfully, the procedure went well with no complications. A press release from the hospital detailed that after their separation, the girls returned to the NICU where they made a swift recovery. Just four weeks later, they were well enough to go home with their parents.
“I’m going to tell them that if they can make it through this, whatever life throws at them, without a doubt, they can handle it,” Jesse said. “There’s a way, and I think this is a good way of showing them, you know, sometimes the impossible is possible.”
“From the beginning to the end, we were guided, informed, and comforted,” Sandy said. “We are so grateful God put some of the best doctors and nurses in our lives to give our girls the best chance at life.”
