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New York City, NY (November 23, 2004) – The two lead surgeons on formerly conjoined Filipino twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre's medical team at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) are giving thanks this holiday season for the success the boys have had in their recovery from the series of four surgeries that culminated in their perfect separation on August 4th.
James Goodrich, MD, director of pediatric neurosurgery at CHAM and David Staffenberg, MD, CHAM's chief of pediatric plastic surgery, say they are thankful that all the planning worked so well and that their decision to operate on the twins in stages was one hundred percent correct.
"Even at the end of 2003, when the boys first arrived in this country, our team of pediatric specialists did a wonderful job of figuring out the nuances of what their needs might be when we entered 2005," Dr. Goodrich said. "As a result, both boys went through a series of complex operations and continue to thrive and learn new skills each day."
"The challenges we are now facing are so different from the life and death ones we contemplated last October," said Dr. Staffenberg. "While we had worked for months planning the surgeries and putting together a team of experts with experience in complicated pediatric neuro and plastic surgeries, we were also aware of the complicated and risky nature of what we were about to do."
"Both Dr. Goodrich and I are giving thanks this holiday season at what we are seeing before us, two feisty little boys who've almost doubled their weight since first arriving here and who are well on their ways to leading normal, active lives," said Dr. Staffenberg.
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