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NEW YORK CITY, NY (January 12, 2004) – Conjoined Filipino twins Clarence and Carl Aguirre have caught winter colds just like the rest of us who have been sipping medicinal chicken soup and shivering underneath piles of blankets during the recent frigid weather.
“They each have an upper respiratory viral infection, also known as a very bad cold,” said Robert Marion, MD, their lead pediatrician at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM). “And, just like the rest of us, Carl and Clarence have been feeling miserable,” Dr. Marion said.
“Colds aside, Carl and Clarence continue to gain weight and grow stronger,” said Dr. Marion. They are continuing with their nutrition, speech and physical therapy at Blythedale Children’s Hospital where they are staying in between the series of surgeries at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) that will eventually separate them. The twin boys are physically joined at the tops of their heads.
“Each day the boys act more and more like children their age -- now close to two years old,” Dr. Marion said. “While their speech remains a bit delayed, otherwise Carl and Clarence have made tremendous progress since they arrived in this country September 10th.”
The boys’ mother, Arlene Aguirre, reports Carl and Clarence are becoming so strong that they’re able to flip each other over in the hospital crib and change positions. “When nurses come in during the night to check on them, very often they’re in reversed positions in the bed,” said Ms. Aguirre. “Carl and Clarence think they are very clever!”
“My boys are also getting more used to each other’s presence,” said Ms. Aguirre. “Now that they are becoming more aware of each other, they sometimes hold hands,” she said. “Then again, just like brothers, they also fight over toys.”
Ms. Aguirre has been using a small video camera she received as a gift to tape the brothers in their day-to-day routines. “Now, they are able to see themselves and each other on the TV,” said Ms. Aguirre. “They are big hams and get very excited to see their own faces.”
As for the timing of the next surgical separation procedure at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, James T. Goodrich, MD, chief, pediatric neurosurgery, CHAM, and David Staffenberg, MD, chief, pediatric plastic surgery, CHAM (the boys’ two lead surgeons), are continuing their “wait-and-see” approach. They want the boys to fully heal from the two previous craniotomies before moving ahead.
Next steps will include more medical imaging, both to better map out the next procedures and to help work out the sequence of events moving towards final separation.
“There is no fixed schedule for moving ahead,” said Dr. Staffenberg. “As always, the boys themselves and how well they are doing will dictate how and when we will proceed.”
“The boys are doing very well, with no neurological damage from the first two procedures,” said Dr. Goodrich. “There is no need to rush.”
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Director, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery,
CHAM
We're known around the world for successfully separating Carl and Clarence Aguirre, born joined at the tops of their heads. Our specialists care daily for children with brain tumors, spinal cord injuries and craniofacial deformities.
