The doctors found that the sisters had separate, strong hearts despite sharing a chest, diaphragm, liver, and abdominal wall.
Their liver was also large enough to split between the two girls. Thus, the doctors deemed the Altobelli twins as optimal candidates for a separation surgery.
Addison and Lilianna were finally born on November 18, 2020, and spent their first four months in the newborn/infant intensive care unit– also known as N/ICU. Once they became stronger, they spent their next six months in the pediatric intensive care unit– also known as PICU.
Then, on October 13, 2021, the separation day came. The twins had a surgical team of over two dozen specialists– including a cardiothoracic surgeon, general surgeons, plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and radiologists. The surgery lasted ten hours, and, at 2:38 p.m., the baby girls were separated at last.
Dr. Holly L. Hedrick, the twins’ lead surgeon and attending pediatric and fetal surgeon at CHOP, described how difficult separating conjoined twins can be.
“Separating conjoined twins is always a challenge because every single set of twins is unique, and they all have different challenges and anatomic considerations,” she said.
Once it was all over, though, the twins’ parents were ecstatic.
“To see them with their own bodies– their bodies were just so perfect– it was amazing. It was just indescribably,” Maggie said after seeing her baby girls separated for the first time.
After residing in Philadelphia for over one year, the Altobelli family got to fly home to Chicago on December 1, 2021. One parent flew with one twin at a time– just in time for the holidays. Now, the girls’ next milestone is to be weaned off of ventilators that aid in their breathing.
“We’re starting a new book. It’s not even a new chapter; it’s a new book,” Dom said, “We started a brand-new book for the girls. And there’s an Addy book, and there’s a Lily book.”
As for the CHOP surgical team, they are overjoyed with the Albotelli girls’ success story.