Conjoined twins separated in ‘space-age’ VR operation
TWINS who were joined at the head have been separated with the help of a Great Ormond Street neurosurgeon in a 27-hour operation.
Bernardo and Arthur Lima, who were born with fused brains, underwent several operations in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, with the direction of Noor ul Owase Jeelani, a paediatric surgeon at the central London hospital.
The three-year-olds had seven surgical procedures, the final operation alone involving more than 27 hours of operating time, with just four 15-minute breaks. Almost 100 medical staff were involved.
It was one of the most complex separation processes ever completed, according to Gemini Untwined, the charity that funded it, and which Mr Jeelani founded in 2018.
Surgeons in London and the Brazilian city spent months testing techniques using virtual reality (VR) projections of the twins based on CT and MRI scans – something Mr Jeelani described as “space-age stuff ”.
He said that, for the first time, surgeons in different countries wore headsets and operated together in the same “virtual reality room”.
Speaking about the VR aspect of the surgery, Mr Jeelani said: “It’s just wonderful, it’s really great to see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk.
“You can imagine how reassuring that is for the surgeons.
“In some ways, these operations are considered the hardest of our time and to do it in virtual reality was just really man-on-mars stuff.”
He said that previously unsuccessful attempts to separate the boys meant their anatomy was complicated by scar tissue and he was “really apprehensive” about the risky procedure.
Mr Jeelani said he was “absolutely shattered” after the 27-hour operation, during which he took just the four 15-minute breaks for food and water.
However, he said it was “wonderful” to see the family feeling “over the moon” afterwards. “There were a lot of tears and hugs ... it was wonderful to be able to help them on this journey.”
He added that, as with all conjoined twins after separation, the boys’ blood pressure and heart rates were “through the roof ” until they were reunited four days later and touched hands.
Mr Jeelani said they were recovering well. He added that his charity has fast become a “global repository for knowledge and experience” of separation surgery and he hopes it will serve as a model for a “global health service” for expert care in other rare diseases.