May 16, 2006 12:23 pm US/Central
Separated Twins' Conditions Upgraded
by Jason DeRusha
Rochester, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Doctors separated Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen at 4:28 p.m. on Friday. Isabelle can be seen at the top of the image; Abbigail is at the bottom.
Courtesy Mayo Clinic
The vital signs of twin girls who were surgically separated continue to improve Tuesday.
The Mayo Clinic reported Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen had been taken off ventilators. The girls were still receiving oxygen, but were no longer intubated. On Monday, doctors said the girls had opened their eyes for the first time since surgery.
The girls, known as Abby and Belle, were born Nov. 29 attached at diaphragm, pancreas and liver, and shared a common bile duct and part of an intestine.
They were separated Friday during a surgery that lasted nearly 12 hours. They remain in intensive care, but are now in serious condition. The concerns about Isabelle's heart, which had been protruding into her sister's body, have been resolved.
"They're delightful little girls that reach out and grab you," said Penny Stavlo, a Mayo Clinic nurse practitioner who has been with the girls every step of the way.
Stavlo was in the room while doctors separated the conjoined twins Friday. She gave the girls' parents, Amy and Jesse Carlsen, the good news.
"I said, 'Well, the separation is complete at 4:28 and you have two beautiful little girls,'" Stavlo said.
Now the girls are in intensive care, and making steady progress, but medical staff at Mayo said there is still a 50 percent chance one of the twins could need more surgery this week.
The twins are learning to breathe with closed chests. Before the surgery, the girls were joined at the chest. Mayo staff is exercising the girls to make sure they are strong enough to breathe on their own.
If their recovery stays on track, doctors said the girls could go home, to Fargo, N.D., in a couple of weeks.
News reports of the surgery have generated an outpouring of support from around the nation for their parents. By Tuesday morning, more than 162,000 visits had been recorded on the family's page at
www.caringbridge.org, a Web site that helps keep families, friends and other well-wishers connected when a loved one is receiving care.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Slideshow: Abby And Belle Carlsen
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