Mar 2, 2006 12:15 pm US/Central
Tests Prepare Conjoined Twins For Surgery
Fargo, N.D. (AP) ―
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Abby and Belle Carlsen
CBS
Conjoined twins Abby and Belle Carlsen are expected to return to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota next week to have silicone balloons placed under their skin as they prepare for separation surgery.
The balloons, called skin expanders, are to force the skin to grow and cover wounds from the surgery, expected to be performed about six weeks after the skin expanders are in place.
The twins' parents, Amy and Jesse Carlsen, plan to stay in Rochester, Minn., until the girls, who now are about four months old, are separated and have recovered. The twins are joined from the mid-chest to their naval.
Specialists at Mayo have separated two sets of conjoined twins. A majority of the members of those surgical teams still work at the hospital, said Dr. Christopher Moir, the lead surgeon.
Abby and Belle were born in late November in Minneapolis. They have been undergoing tests this week at the Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital in Rochester.
Medical experts and staff members plan to study the images over the next few weeks to determine the best way to separate the girls.
"We're getting beautiful detail," Moir said. "Now we'll study them in a thoughtful, unrushed atmosphere."
Recent tests confirm earlier ones that show the girls share parts of a liver and small intestine, he said.
A team of more than 30 doctors, nurses and staff members met Tuesday to start discussing the girls' care. Some introduced themselves to the Carlsen family and tried to coax smiles from the twins.
Sheila Horak, a pediatric nurse, weighed the girls and measured the circumferences of their heads shortly after the family checked into the hospital Monday night. While they were being weighed, Belle screamed while Abby looked at her sister with wide-eyed amazement.
"It's not that bad," Horak told the girls. "Come on, bring back the smiles."
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According to the Mayo Clinic, conjoined twins are extremely rare, occurring once in every 200,000 births.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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