Twins Anias and Jadon McDonald were born 13 months ago joined at the head. Thanks to Dr. Goodrich and a 27 hour procedure beginning on October 13, the twins were separated at 2:11 AM on Friday morning and are now in the intensive care unit at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

Their parents, Nicole and Christian McDonald, were relieved when Jadon was taken into the pediatric ICU after the separation and rebuilding procedure earlier this morning. The craniopagus surgery lasted sixteen hours followed by additional surgery for both boys to rebuild their skulls, and as CNN reporters Wayne Drash and Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote in their exclusive article “make them whole” again. Five hours after Jadon was wheeled out of the operating room, Anias was also taken up to ICU and to his family. After being reunited, Mrs. McDonald wrote on Facebook, “I ache with the uncertainty of the future. … We are standing on the brink of a vast unknown. The next few months will be critical in terms of recovery and we will not know for sure how Anias and Jadon are recovering for many weeks”.

The procedure is only the 59th craniopagus surgery in the world, and the seventh for Dr. James Goodrich, who led the surgical team. Craniopagus is incredibly risky and could result in death or long-term brain damage for one or both twins. After weighing their options, Mr. and Mrs. McDonald chose to go through with the procedure because studies show that about 80% of twins joined at the head die due to medical complications by the age of two.  

Other doctors that have successfully completed a craniopagus operation include Dr. Ben Carson, Sr.. Dr. Carson gained global attention in 1987 for the first occipital craniopagus procedure in which both twins survived. In the mid-80’s, it was a common practice to sacrifice one twin to save the other’s life, which often resulted in the loss of both twins. The success of both Dr. Carson and Dr. Goodrich have led to more success in separating conjoined twins and continue to revolutionize similar operations. Dr. Goodrich said prior to the surgery, “Don’t change what works”, referring to his four stage method that gradually progresses the separation of  twin’s brains over the course of four operations. The McDonalds are uncertain of what is to come, including Jadon’s and Anias’ recovery.