California doctors have achieved a remarkable feat by successfully separating nine-month-old twin girls who were born conjoined at the head, a condition known as craniopagus. This intricate and challenging procedure took place at UC Davis Children’s Hospital and lasted a grueling 24 hours. The twins, Abigail and Micaela Bachinskiy, are currently in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) as they recover.
Conjoined twins are already a rare occurrence, happening in approximately one in 200,000 births. However, the situation becomes even more exceptional when twins are joined at the head. The medical team spent over 10 months preparing for this groundbreaking surgery, meticulously practicing mock operations to separate the girls’ skull, brains, and soft tissues.
The operation proved to be a success, offering hope for the twins’ future. Assuming no complications arise, Abigail and Micaela are expected to return home in the coming months. The parents, Liliya Mirochnik and Anatoliy Bachinskiy, residents of Sacramento, were initially shocked and devastated upon discovering that their daughters were conjoined.
In the United States, craniopagus twins are exceedingly rare, occurring in only 10 to 20 cases per million births. Tragically, about 40 percent of these cases result in stillbirth, and roughly 33 percent of these babies do not survive long after birth, often due to organ failure or other abnormalities. However, approximately 25 percent of craniopagus twins have been known to survive and, in some cases, undergo separation procedures, depending on the specific attachment point at the skull.
Dr. Granger Wong, the Chief of Plastic Surgery at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, emphasized the extraordinary rarity of the twins’ condition. He highlighted that conjoined twins, in general, are uncommon, and having them conjoined at the head is even more extraordinary. Furthermore, the favorable anatomy required for successful separation is exceptionally rare. This remarkable achievement in the separation of Abigail and Micaela Bachinskiy offers hope and inspiration to the medical community and beyond.