Conjoined twins born in October were successfully separated by the surgeons at Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center during an operation that lasted a little more than three hours on January 19, 2009. The twins who had been joined at the chest since birth are believed to be the first known American Indian conjoined twins.
Dr. David Tuggle who spearheaded a team of fifteen doctors and medical staff, also separated Oklahoma’s only other surviving conjoined twins in 1986. The twins required four operations to surgically separate their shared liver, rib cage and heart, as well as repair an abdominal hernia.
Instead of using a skin graft to cover their open wounds, the team used a vacuum-assisted closure to promote faster healing as drainage is continuously removed and new skin is pulled to the surface. Dr. Tuggle believes this is the first use of this technology on infants. The girls’ skin recovered in a month without the added risk of more surgery.
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