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New York City, NY (December 21, 2004) – Formerly conjoined Filipino twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre are back to their old selves today after a series of minor medical procedures last week, termed “medical poking” by one of their lead surgeons.
“Their sniffles and congestion are almost all gone and they’re back to their favorite pastime, watching The Wiggles on television,” said David Staffenberg, MD, chief of pediatric plastic surgery at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and one of the boys’ two lead surgeons on the medical team that successfully separated them in a historic series of surgeries at CHAM. The boys had been attached at the tops of their heads and separated in the last in a series of four surgeries this past August.
Of last week’s procedures: “They were just a lot of “medical poking,” said Staffenberg. Last Wednesday the boys underwent the first in a series of operations that will eventually see the complete reconstructions of their skulls. On Friday, specialists at CHAM removed their tonsils and adenoids and inserted feeding tubes in their stomachs.
"Both boys’ airways were ninety percent blocked by peach pit sized tonsils," said Sanjay Parikh, MD, director of pediatric ear, nose and throat at CHAM. "Removing their tonsils and adenoids should make their breathing and sleeping easier," he said. Carl and Clarence’s mother, Arlene, reports, “the boys are breathing much easier and sleeping better now.”
While the twins were anesthetized a team of pediatric gastroenterologists inserted feeding tubes in their stomachs replacing tubes that had been inserted through their noses. "We did this," said CHAM gastroenterologist Anthony Loizides, MD, "to insure they get enough nutrition while they undergo feeding therapy." "Carl and Clarence have been fed primarily through their nose tubes since they arrived in the United States a year ago this past September," he said. "It’s quite common for children fed this way not to want to take regular food through their mouth and this is just a precautionary measure."
While Carl and Clarence were suffering some discomfort this past weekend when Santa paid them a holiday visit, Dr. Staffenberg reports “they have now bounced back, as is their custom.”
The Aguirre twins are now back at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Westchester where they will undergo occupational, recreational, speech and feeding therapies. No date has yet been set for their next reconstructive procedure at CHAM.
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