Beersheba, September 6: Conjoined twin girls born in  Israel could see each other and were able to make eye contact for the first. The miracle happened after the one-year-old twins underwent a rare separation surgery, in the first operation of its kind in Israel. The girls were attached to each other by their heads, which is a rare condition termed as 'craniopagus twins'. For the first time in Israel, a team of doctors performed a rare operation, thus separating the twins and being successful in the miraculous operation.

The doctors at the Soroka Medical Centre took months of preparation and involved dozens of experts from Israel and abroad. It was a 12-hour “life or death” operation after which both babies are likely to live completely normal lives. According to details by hareetz.com, the complex operation began with the separation of the girls’ blood vessels and continued with the separation of bone. The team split into two operating rooms where they reconstructed the skull and stitched up the skin of each girl. Siamese Twins Separated Successfully at UP's King George's Medical University.

Mickey Gideon, Soroka's chief pediatric neurosurgeon, was quoted by Reuters saying that it was a rare and complex surgery that has been conducted only 20 times worldwide. The doctor further said that it was the first time in Israel that such a rare operation was conducted, adding that the coming days are critical in the process of the twins’ recovery.

The Soroka statement said the surgery involved cranial reconstruction and scalp grafts for both the girls. The photos of the twin sisters went viral on social media. The girls were seen facing one another in a bed. Dr Isaac Lazar described the remarkable moment to The Times of Israel and said that it was “unbelievable joy” that the parents felt when girls looked at each other for the first time, after a year connected at their heads but unable to see one another.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 06, 2021 08:44 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).