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The Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia Miraculously Separated These Adorable Ten-Month-Old Conjoined Twins

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Addison and Lilianna Altobelli, adorable ten-month-old conjoined twins, spent nearly one year in the ICU at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

On October 13, 2021 the twins were miraculously separated by their surgical team.

During their twentieth-week ultrasound appointment, Addison and Lilianna were diagnosed as thoraco-omphalopagus twins.

Prior to that ultrasound, the twins’ parents– Maggie and Dom Altobelli– thought they were expecting just one baby.

The ultrasound not only revealed two baby girls but also that the sisters shared a chest, diaphragm, liver and abdominal wall.

Conjoined twins only occur in one out of every fifty thousand births– making the Altobelli girls’ case extremely rare.

After learning of their daughters’ diagnosis, Maggie and Dom were referred to CHOP– one of the few hospitals in the country that has experience separating conjoined twins.

The family met with CHOP specialists for prenatal screenings and tests in order to discern if separation was an option for the twins.

CHOP; pictured above is the Altobelli family before Addison and Lilianna’s separation surgery

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