A pair of conjoined twins with fused brains were successfully separated during surgery in Rio de Janeiro.
Three-year-old Brazilians Bernardo and Arthur Lima underwent seven different operations and spent 33 hours under the knife in the final two operations alone.
100 medical staff were involved in the procedures and Dr Gabriel Mufarrej hailed the separation as a "remarkable achievement".
We are so thrilled to share the news of our sixth set of successfully separated twins!
Meet Arthur and Bernardo from Brazil. Read more about them below!— Gemini Untwined (@GUntwined) August 1, 2022
"The successful separation of Bernardo and Arthur is a remarkable achievement by the team in Rio and a fantastic example of why the work of [charity] Gemini Untwined is so valuable,” he said.
"Not only have we provided a new future for the boys and their family, we have equipped the local team with the capabilities and confidence to undertake such complex work successfully again in the future.
"It is through this process of teamwork and knowledge-sharing globally that we can hope to improve the outcome for all children and families that find themselves in this difficult position.
"This is only possible through generous donations from members of the public."
Surgeons from @GUntwined worked for 33 hours with the team at Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer to separate Arthur and Bernardo.
CW: Contains surgery footagehttps://t.co/nUWZM3RN9H— Gemini Untwined (@GUntwined) August 1, 2022
An estimated one in 60,000 births result in conjoined twins and the case of Bernardo and Arthur was especially rare as they were joined at the head and shared fused brains.
The boys received two and half years of specialist medical treatment before their surgery and receive a further six months of rehabilitation.
Main image: Surgeon and nurse preparing for surgery in operating theatre.
