Brazilian twins who were conjoined at the head have been successfully separated with the help of a London-based surgeon.
Bernardo and Arthur Lima, who were born with fused brains, underwent several surgeries in Rio de Janeiro, with the direction of Great Ormond Street Hospital paediatric surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani.
The three-year-old boys underwent seven operations, involving over 33 hours of operating time in the final two surgeries alone, and almost 100 medical staff.
Surgeons spent months trialling techniques using virtual reality before beginning the real procedures.
Their surgery was led by Mr Jeelani, alongside Gabriel Mufarrej, head of paediatric surgery at Instituto Estadual do Cerebro Paulo Niemeyer.
Mr Jeelani described the operation as a “remarkable achievement” by medics but added that the charity relies on public donations to keep its work going.
“The successful separation of Bernardo and Arthur is a remarkable achievement by the team in Rio and a fantastic example of why the work of Gemini Untwined is so valuable,” said Mr Jeelani.
