THE hospital passage filled with family members waiting with bated breath. Hugging, holding hands, and praying, the small gathering of people were all desperately hoping for one thing: news that two little boys had survived.
As doctors rolled out heavily sedated brothers Arthur and Bernardo Lima, tears of joy streamed down the faces of their parents, Adriely and Antonio Lima.
“I can’t believe my children are separated!” Adriely shouted to those who’d been so solemn just moments before.
The relief was understandable. Their three-year-old sons went into the operating theatre as conjoined twins and emerged more than a day later, safely separated thanks to groundbreaking surgery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Arthur and Bernardo’s case was highly complex as they were born craniopagus. This means the brothers were connected to each other with fused skulls and intertwined brains that shared vital veins.
Adding to the complexity is that one of the boys faced upwards, while the other faced downwards – their separation was believed to be impossible.
But as these two boys showed, the impossible didn’t apply to them. Medical teams on two continents pushed the boundaries of medical innovation and research even further by preparing and doing the surgery in virtual reality – the first time such technology had been used for this purpose in Brazil.
“As a parent myself, it’s always such a special privilege to be able to improve the outcome for these children and their families,” says Dr. Noor ul Owase Jeelani, a surgeon at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London, who directed the procedure.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 18 August 2022 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 18 August 2022 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it