Conjoined twins undergo skin expander procedure in Goiânia

Conjoined twins Maria Helena and Maria Eva, originally from São Paulo, have undergone a critical preparatory step for their separation surgery at the Hospital Estadual da Criança e do Adolescente (Hecad) in Goiânia.

During a two-hour procedure, medical teams successfully implanted skin expanders in the twins' thoracic region. These devices will be gradually filled over the coming weeks to expand the skin tissue, providing the necessary surface area to close the surgical sites once the twins are separated. The sisters, who are joined at the abdomen and share part of the thorax, will undergo a second stage of preparation involving additional expanders in the abdominal region.

Plastic surgeon Rogério Hamú noted that the procedure requires intensive care due to the patients' small size and shared anatomical structures. The final date for the separation surgery remains undetermined, as it depends on the clinical evolution of the twins and how their tissues respond to the expansion process.