Conjoined Twins with Fused Brains Successfully Separated

Conjoined twins separated with the help of virtual reality https://t.co/70NcZQNi4w

— BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) August 1, 2022

Bernardo and Arthur Lima are three-year-old craniopagus conjoined twins, meaning they were joined at their heads. They have never been able to stand, walk, or look directly at each other until now. The Brazilian boys have been completely separated after a 27-hour operation headed by surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani and assisted by a team of nearly 100 people, including surgeons from the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London via virtual reality. Bernardo and Arthur have been living at Instituto Estadual do Cerebro Paulo Niemeyer for more than two years preparing for separation, and surgeons have been practicing by virtual reality.

The Lima twins are now the oldest twins with fused brains to have ever been successfully separated. That they survived the surgery is remarkable, but their heart rates and blood pressure surged after the operation, and only returned to normal when the boys were reunited with each other days later. They are now recovering together, and face at least six months of medical therapy. Read more about this case at BBC Tech.