Two-Year-Old Conjoined Twins Die Shortly After Lengthy Separation Surgery

Two-year-old sisters Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva, conjoined at the head, died shortly after a 15-hour operation that finally separated their shared brain tissue and blood vessels. The procedure, performed at Hospital das Clínicas in Ribeirão Preto, was the fifth surgery the twins had endured, following earlier operations that removed about three-quarters of their shared structures and prepared skin for skull closure.

Immediately after separation, one twin developed low blood pressure and the other high blood pressure, leading to heart attacks at 11:12 pm and 11:26 pm respectively. A medical team of over 50 professionals attempted resuscitation for 25 minutes, but both children were declared dead. Plastic surgeon Jayme Farina Júnior noted the twins' fragile health, citing repeated pneumonia, tracheostomy, gastrostomy, and overall instability. Their father, Amarildo Batista da Silva, expressed gratitude to the doctors, and the girls were buried on August 16 in São José dos Campos.