UK Surgeons Separate Conjoined Twins Using a VR Headset

Surgeons successfully completed one of the most complicated conjoined twin separations ever recorded with the help of virtual reality.

Noor ul Owase Jeelani, one of the surgeons who led the procedure and the founder of the charity Gemini Untwined, said that in some ways, such operations are considered the hardest of a surgeon's time and to do it in virtual reality was man-on-mars stuff.

The three-year-old Brazilian twins, Bernardo and Arthur, were born with Craniopagus, which means they were born with fused brains. According to the Journal of Medical Case Reports, Craniopagus is rare, with an incidence of approximately four to six cases in 10,000,000 births. This condition is rare and, perhaps unsurprisingly, exceptionally difficult to treat.

Surgeons had failed multiple attempts to detach the boys, which led to scar tissue formation, further lessening the hope for a successful separation.

Hard work that led to a successful operation

The team of surgeons, nearly 100 medical staff, and medical professionals from around the world use VR to limit the risk and predict outcomes, as well as to counter the numerous obstacles presented by the nature of craniopagus and the extensive scarring. The twins had undergone seven surgical procedures, with the final operation lasting 27 hours.  

The surgeons worked with VR engineers to build the perfect digital modeling of the boys' entangled anatomy using MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computerized Tomography) scans. They saw the twins' fused brains and were also given the opportunity to try different surgical techniques.

Although this isn't the first time that VR has been used in separating children with craniopagus, Jeelani clarified that this was the first instance in which surgeons in multiple countries met in a digital operating room and performed the procedure together.

According to Jeelani, VR integration is wonderful, and using it will enable surgeons to see the anatomy and prevent any possible risks for children before the surgery, per Futurism.

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VR integrations reassure the surgeons

Mr. Jeelani only took a 15-minute break for food and water but felt terrific after seeing the family over the moon. According to the surgeons, there were a lot of tears and hugs, and they felt great as they were able to help the family, especially the twins, on their journey.

The twins were recovering well, but before they reunited, they spent four days before they touched hands. After the surgery, their blood pressure and heart rates soared high. 

On the other hand, the charity has become a global repository of knowledge and experience of separation surgery. The charity hopes it will serve as a model for an international health service that will provide care in a very expert way for other rare diseases. The concept behind the charity was to build a health service for rare cases globally, to attempt and improve results for such children. 

According to Gemini Figures, approximately 50 such sets of twins are born worldwide every year, and only 15 survive beyond the first 30 days of their life.

In the United States, conjoined twins occur in 1 per 33,000-165,000 births and 1 per 200,000 live births. Around 40 to 60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn. Living conjoined twins are more likely to be female, with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1 or greater among conjoined twins, per EMedicine Health.

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