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NEW YORK CITY, NY (December 10, 2003) – Twenty-month-old conjoined Filipino twins, Carl and Clarence Aguirre, spent today resting and recuperating from Monday’s minor surgery to remove a soft tissue expander after the boys developed a minor infection.
“Carl and Clarence are bouncing right back to their usual selves,” said Robert Marion, MD, lead pediatrician for the twins at CHAM.
“The boys were clapping their hands and Clarence was practicing his new ‘high-five’ move with his mother and a few visitors,” said Dr. Marion. “Carl, typically the quieter brother, was playing with a new music toy and keeping time by tapping on his chest.”
Doctors decided to remove the tissue expander, inserted under the skin covering Carl’s skull on November 24th, to prevent a minor infection from becoming something more serious. This is the second time these balloon-like devices have been removed as a precaution because of the development of a minor infection.
“We now believe the twins cannot physically tolerate insertion of the tissue expanders during the major separation procedures,” said David Staffenberg, MD, chief, Pediatric Plastic Surgery, CHAM.
“We designed this separation process in stages so we could re-choreograph our steps as we move toward the ultimate separation surgery for Carl and Clarence,” said Dr. Staffenberg. “In the future, will wait for the separation surgery to heal before attempting insertion of the tissue expanders.”
Tissue expanders are used to help stretch the skin covering the boys’ heads and to encourage new skin growth so there is enough skin available to cover the tops of each boys’ head at the final separation surgery.
“The twins will remain in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at CHAM for observation at least until over the weekend to make sure the infection, and slight fever associated with it, does not recur,” said Dr. Marion.
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