A Thanksgiving gift: Twins born joined at the head go home after 485 days in hospital

The Mooresville parents of twins born joined at the head finally got to take them home, four months after surgery in Philadelphia separated them.

Erin and Abby Delaney, in their stroller, were wheeled out of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Monday morning and into the backseat of a minivan for their first Thanksgiving at home. They had been in the hospital for 485 days.

Children born joined at the head are the rarest of conjoined twins, which occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births. Surgeons at the hospital had previously separated 22 conjoined pairs but never a craniopagus pair until June 6.

A 30-member interdisciplinary team performed the 11-hour surgery to separate the blood flow between the girls and the membrane covering their brains. Synthetic material replaced the membrane, and skin that had been stretched before surgery was sewn into place on the tops of their heads.

Heather and Riley Delaney learned their babies were conjoined about 11 weeks into the pregnancy. Heather Delaney began receiving care at the Philadelphia hospital well before the children were born on July 24, 2016, and the babies continued to get therapy after their surgery.

“The girls are inspiring,” she said in a statement released by the hospital. “As their parents, it is very neat for Riley and me to have a front-row seat to this and watch them overcome these incredible obstacles. We cannot wait to see what their future holds!”

The girls will need more surgeries as they grow, but their Philadelphia doctors say they are “optimistic about their progress so far and about their long-term potential.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 3:55 PM with the headline "A Thanksgiving gift: Twins born joined at the head go home after 485 days in hospital."