Conjoined twin girls, 2, die on operating table after fifth desperate surgery to separate them goes wrong

Conjoined two-year-old twin sisters died on the operating table after complications arose during their fifth separation surgery, a report stated. 

Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva died just minutes apart from each other on August 15 at the Hospital das Clínicas, in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, according to the Sun. 

The toddlers, born with their heads fused, shared the same brain tissue and blood vessels, per the outlet. 

Since their birth, they endured four grueling surgeries, and on the date of their death, they were in the operating room for their fifth – the final separation procedure. 

Over 50 medical and support staff were involved in the complicated operation, but right after they were finally separated, their conditions quickly worsened. 

The twins suddenly started to experience haemodynamic instability, a condition that causes insufficient blood flow to vital organs and can result in multiple organ failure and death, the medical team said, according to the report. 

While the surgery was underway, one of the sisters developed high blood pressure, while the other dealt with low blood pressure. 

Helena then had a heart attack at 11.12pm and Heloísa had one at 11.26 pm. 

Doctors immediately tried to resuscitate them for 25 minutes, but they tragically died. Helena passed away at 11.37pm and Heloísa at 11.51pm. 

Jayme Farina Júnior, a plastic surgeon on the girls’ medical team, said the twins had fragile bodies and were sick most of their lives. 

‘They had many bouts of pneumonia, they had a tracheostomy, they needed a gastrostomy for feeding, and they had episodes that also weakened their bodies,’ Júnior detailed. 

‘But at the moment of the final separation, their bodies could not withstand this instability, and then they progressed to cardiac arrest,’ the medical professional added. 

The first three surgeries the sisters endured saw doctors separate about 75 percent of their shared blood vessels and brain tissue. 

During their fourth procedure, they were fitted with tissue expanders to help increase the amount of skin available for when doctors closed their skulls during the final operation. 

The baby girls were buried the following day, on August 16, in São José dos Campos.

Their heartbroken father, Amarildo Batista da Silva, thanked the medical staff who worked tirelessly to help save his girls, and said he does not blame them for his daughters’ deaths. 

‘Every child you lose is a defeat, every child you manage to save is a victory. I am sure you have far more victories than defeats, so this does not become a defeat,’ he said of the staff. 

Heloísa and Helena were the third set of craniopagus – joined at the head – twins to be treated at the hospital. 

Brazil’s public healthcare system funded all of their treatments, according to the report.