“Her birth was simultaneously the most emotional, difficult and joyful experience of our lives.”
A pair of 15-month-old conjoined twins were successfully separated at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
The conjoined twins’ separation surgery, which took place on Feb. 28, lasted 18 hours and included a team of 30+ healthcare professionals. Preparation for the surgery began in the fall of 2024.
Now seven months later, twins Ally and El are at home and thriving as they receive occupational, speech and physiotherapy to ensure they continue to grow and develop.
Seattle Children’s Hospital announced the exciting news in a press release, published Sept. 17.
“Conjoined twins are rare, and twins joined at the pelvis, as Ally and El were, are even a bit rarer”, said Dr. Caitlin A. Smith, co-director of the Reconstructive Pelvic Medicine program at Seattle Children’s.
“The surgery required to separate them is highly specialized, but I was excited because I knew we had the right team in place,” she added. “This required another level of coordination and teamwork.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, 1 in every 50,000 to 100,000 pregnancies result in conjoined twins.
The Seattle Children’s Hospital further estimates that twins joined at the pelvis only account for about 25% of all conjoined twins — with twins joined at the chest being the most common at 40%.
READ MORE: Baby with fatal lung condition born weeks after doctors performed rare surgery while in the womb
Following surgery, Ally and El spent three months inside Seattle Children’s Inpatient Rehabilitation.
The twins had movement restrictions early on as their wounds healed, but they were discharged in May and have continued their recovery at home in the months since, according to Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Now, they’re doing what any one-year-old toddler would be doing.
“It’s incredible to watch our girls crawl quickly, learn new words and see their distinct personalities take shape,” the twins’ mom, Sam Albalushi, said in the press release.
Albalushi recalls meeting her conjoined twins for the first time
In an interview with KOMO News, published Sept. 17, Albalushi opened up about the shock that ensued when her conjoined twins were born.
While she was aware of the potential for complications during pregnancy, Albalushi and her doctors had no idea her twins were conjoined until birth.
"All the doctors, they ran to a corner, and everyone was so shocked in that room," she told KOMO.
"I was not able to accept it suddenly when this happened," she added. "But then I came to my senses, like, you know, where are my kids? I want to see them. "
READ MORE: Florida mom delivers a baby so big he made hospital history. ‘He was like a little celebrity’
That moment came soon after when she visited her twins in the NICU.
"I've never seen conjoined twins before, but they were looking so beautiful, so incredible," Sam said. "I started crying, and I was so happy."
Albalushi’s concern for her twins’ growth and overall life led her to decide that separation surgery was the best route for their future.
So, the family moved from the Middle East to Seattle in search of the world’s best care.
After six months of planning, the then-15-month-old twins were ready for surgery. 18 hours later, they were separated.
"They were smiling and they were also confused, like 'What's going on and why is she in another crib?" Albalushi said of her twins’ confusion following surgery.
"They have different personalities, different likes and dislikes. But there's some way they're still connected with their emotions. They start noticing, 'Where's my sister and why am I here alone,'” she added.
ALSO ON MOD MOMS CLUB: Mom, baby and doctor all share the same birthday after a delivery that was meant to be
“So I think they always want to be together,” she concluded.
