“For the First Time, Lis is Only Lis and Mel is Only Mel” Says Doctor

By Contributing Reporter

BRASILIA, BRAZIL – The unprecedented and extremely complex surgery performed on Siamese twins Lis and Mel was profusely celebrated by the children’s parents and the staff of the Hospital da Criança of Brasília.

The twins, who complete 11 months today (May 1st), have been in treatment since they were only two months old.

The rarity of the case and the friendliness of the girls made the clinical staff attach to them.

The separation procedure began to be planned when they were still two months old and Dr. Benicio Oton de Lima confirmed through examinations that the operation would be feasible because they shared only a small portion of the brain, which could be removed without damage.

“The day he said we could separate them was a very happy day for me,” recalls the girls’ mother, Camilla Vieira Neves, 25.

The medical team believes that the attachment of the right frontal lobe facilitated the separation as it allowed the children to develop normally.

“They are not bed-ridden patients. They are healthy patients who had perfectly normal growth and motor development,” highlights Liliana Teixeira, an anesthesiologist.

Benicio Oton de Lima, neurosurgeon and head of the team that performed the procedure, highlights how crucial surgery is for the little girls’ future. “For the first time, Lis is only Lis, and Mel is only Mel,” he said.

He also recalls that the surgery was performed in a public hospital, cost-free. “There is a lot of solidarity here. Everyone was very fond of them,” says the doctor.

The children’s parents, Camilla Vieira Neves, 25, and Rodrigo Martins Aragão, 30, are anxiously following the girls’ recovery. “We know it is a delicate moment for their health, but we are happy and hopeful as, so far, everything is running well,” says Rodrigo.

The goal of the medical team is that by June 1st, on Mel and Lis’ first birthday, they will be in the common ward of the hospital, playing with the other children.

The girls’ mother, a Catholic, never tires of thanking the doctors – they were “angels sent by God” and asks for prayers for her daughters. “Praying is never too much. I ask everyone to pray for their recovery,” says Camilla.

Ministry of Health official, she has been away from work since the girls were born. “I am devoted to my daughters, but it makes me happy. They make me smile, ” she said.

(Source: Metropole)