Ribeirão Preto, Brazil: Conjoined twins Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva die after 15hr separation surgery
Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva were born with fused heads.
Conjoined twins have died after an agonising 15-hour surgery attempting to separate them.
Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva were born with their heads joined together, sharing brain tissue and blood vessels.
Aged two years and seven months, they died after their fifth separation operation on August 15 in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.For two years, the pair had been monitored by a Brazilian hospital.
Over the past twelve months the twins had undergone four other surgeries.
The last one involved a team of more than 50 and successfully separated the girls.
However, minutes after their separation, the medical team told The Sun that their condition quickly deteriorated.
They experienced haemodynamic instability, where vital organs do not get sufficient blood flow.
Heloísa and Helena had heart attacks minutes apart.
Despite efforts to resuscitate the girls, both were declared dead.
A plastic surgeon involved in the final surgery, Jayme Farina Júnior, said the girls’ bodies did not handle the separation.
“They had many bouts of pneumonia, they had a tracheotomy, they needed a gastrostomy for feeding, and they had episodes that also weakened their bodies,” she said.
“But at the moment of the final separation, their bodies could not withstand this instability, and then they progressed to cardiac arrest.”
Despite the tragic outcome, their dad Amarildo Batista da Silva thanked the medical team for their efforts.
“Every child you lose is a defeat, every child you manage to save is a victory,” he said.
“I am sure you have far more victories than defeats, so this does not become a defeat.”
In the first three surgeries, 75 per cent of the girls’ shared brain tissue and blood vessels were separated.
The fourth was focused on fitting tissue expanders to ensure there was a sufficient amount of skin to close their skills in the fifth operation.
The treatments were fully funded by the Brazilian healthcare system.
Heloísa and Helena were buried at their family home on August 16.
