CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Monday marks the five year anniversary of the day that a set of conjoined twin girls named Ximena and Scarlett Torres of Brownsville were surgically separated at Driscoll Children's Hospital. It was as you may remember, a history making surgery.
We are happy to report the girls are doing just fine, and are full of energy, laughter, and smiles.
The girls were joined at the pelvis. Their surgery came 11 months after their birth. They were actually born as a set of triplets. Their sister is also said to be doing fine.
A massive team of doctors spent months preparing for the surgery. In all, there were 45 health care professionals involved in the process.
Of course, their specialized care continues.
"You are not sure if they are going to walk, not sure how they are going to do, you are worried about all these other functions, bladder, bowl functions, feeding, and then you see this progress, and then you see them in your office running around, interacting," said Haroon Patel who is a pediatric surgeon at Driscoll Children's Hospital.
A picture of the girls was taken during a recent routine checkup at Driscoll's specialty clinic in Harlingen.
The girls were there along with their triplet sister Catalina and their younger sister Lucia.
By the way, the odds of having conjoined twins in a triplet birth, is one in 50 million.
The girls' mother Silvia Herandez-Ambriz was naturally worried about their future.
"I knew they were going to be strong, because since the moment I saw them for the first time, they always fought for their lives," said Herandez-Ambriz.
"To date, there has never been a survival of a set of conjoined twins in a triple pregnancy," said pediatric surgeon Haroon Patel at Driscoll Children's Hospital.
Dr. Patel said he did not know if the girls would ever walk. Patel led the procedure, hoping to give the girls a normal life.
"Someone was looking out for us because every step of the way not just the separation, but even beyond their recovery time, was well ahead of schedule," said Dr. Patel.
The girls would undergo extensive rehabilitation. Five years later, the two continuing to overcome all the odds stacked against them.
Their specialized care is expected to continue over the years as they grow in what doctors describe will be a lifelong relationship.
"They are going to have ongoing medical needs, and part of that is just the fact that they were ye big and now they are that big and things change," said Patel.
Today, the smiles on their faces say it all.
The girl's mother said she was forever grateful to the health care team at Driscoll.
"I think the doctors gave them a second life. A second chance to live," said Silvia Herandez-Ambriz.
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