2-year-old twin sisters born joined at the head in Brazil died minutes after enduring a grueling fifth surgery to separate them, according to a report. Little Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva, who shared brain tissue and blood vessels, suffered insufficient blood flow to their organs along with a heart attack in Ribeirão Preto on Saturday, the UK Sun reported. The adorable sisters had just been separated at the end of a 15-hour operation, when their conditions changed, according to the outlet. One of the twins quickly developed low blood pressure while the other suffered from high blood pressure. Heloísa and Helena, conjoined twins born joined at the head, died on Saturday, August 15, after undergoing definitive separation surgery at the Hospital das Clínicas in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. The two-year-old sisters suffered cardiac and cardiorespiratory arrest after the operation that lasted 15 hours. JamPress Helena reportedly suffered a heart attack at 11:12 p.m., and Heloísa had one at 11:26 p.m. The medical team desperately tried to resuscitate them for 25 minutes, but the girls were pronounced dead shortly after, the outlet reported. “They had many attacks of pneumonia, they had a tracheostomy, they needed a gastrostomy to feed themselves and they had episodes that also weakened their bodies,” said Jayme Farina Júnior, a plastic surgeon on the team. “But at the time of final separation, their bodies could not withstand this instability and then progressed to cardiac arrest.” Little Heloísa and Helena Batista da Silva shared brain tissue and blood vessels. JamPress The twins’ first three surgeries involved doctors separating about 75% of the brain tissue and blood vessels they shared. During the fourth operation, doctors used tissue expanders to increase the amount of skin needed to close their skulls at the final separation. The sisters had successfully completed four surgeries over the past year before the final surgery, which required more than 50 employees at the hospital. Both girls reportedly suffered from hemodynamic instability, also known as insufficient blood flow to vital organs, which can lead to organ failure and death. A medical team of more than 50 people assisted with the surgery. JamPress His father, Amarildo Batista da Silva, thanked the doctors and hospital staff despite the heartbreaking outcome. The girls were buried on August 16 in São José dos Campos, near their family home.
