Cook Children’s Makes History with Conjoined Twin Separation

Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth successfully separated conjoined twins, Amanda and James Finley’s daughters, with optimistic outlook on their recovery. The hospital will focus on breathing support and pain control as the twins heal according to an NBCDFW article. They say,

“Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth says they successfully separated their first set of conjoined twins on Monday, 16-week-old sisters AmieLynn Finley and JamieLynn Finley, of Saginaw. 

During a news conference Wednesday, the hospital identified the girls’ parents as Amanda Arciniega and James Finley and said they were “overjoyed to reunite with their girls and see them in their separate cribs, laying on their backs for the first time on Monday evening.” 

The hospital said doctors are optimistic about the twins’ recovery and said that as they heal over the next few days their primary focus will be on breathing support and pain control.”

Lead surgeon Dr. Jose Iglesias believes the separation will improve their health and development. Conjoined twins are rare, with only 5 to 8 globally surviving the first days after birth according to a WFAA article which observes,

“The separation surgery will give AmieLynn and JamieLynn better opportunities to improve their health and development, and to grow as the unique, individual little girls that they have been since birth, regardless of their physical connection as conjoined twins,” said Jose L. Iglesias, M.D., medical director of Pediatric Surgery at Cook Children’s Medical Center and the lead surgeon for twins’ surgery. 

Conjoined twins are very rare. Hospital staff estimate conjoined twins occur 1 – in- 200,000 live-births and say only 5 to 8 conjoined twins worldwide survive the first days after birth. 

The girls were born Oct. 3, looking face-to-face and connected from the lower part of their breast bones to their belly buttons. They also shared a liver, and collectively, weighed just 4 pounds, 7.8 ounces.”

The emotional parents express their excitement for the girls’ future growth and development. They are focusing on healing and will receive continued support from neonatology and NICU teams.