The surgical separation of Dallas twins this weekend is being considered a success, and their parents are thrilled.
Owen and Emmett Ezell are stable and are getting help breathing. Doctors at Medical City Children's Hospital say the brothers are the third set of conjoined twins it has had in the last 10 years. Their separation surgery was the first the hospital has performed.
Their mother, Jenni, said this is a moment of joy.
"This is Emmett — he has a little more hair at the moment — and this is Owen," she said. "He's more of a baldy at the moment."
It took more than nine months to get to this point.
"I'm just ready to rejoice now," she said.
The twins were surgically separated on Saturday.
"The operation itself took about nine hours to complete for the surgeons," Dr. Clair Schwendeman said.
Doctors are cautiously optimistic about their future, during which they will have at least two to three more surgeries.
Their parents are just looking forward to smaller milestones.
"I look forward to holding them for the first time," Jenni Ezell said. "That will be a huge moment, taking them home."
The future didn't seem so bright early on, when the couple found out the twins were conjoined.
"We didn't think they had a chance," Ezell said. "We thought they were not going to make it at all, so we decided to abort. It was the hardest decision that a mother has to make about her babies, so we came down here."
But doctors at Medical City told her in March that the boys had a chance.
"At that point we were just floored," Ezell said. "I could not contain my joy."
A fetal MRI was taken right around the time.
"Our doctor did tell us, 'Guard your hearts. It's not going to be an easy process.' It was really hard to not be really excited, though," Ezell said.
She said it's hard not be excited, now more than ever.
"I'm already planning their first birthday parties, so just all the memories of childhood and giving them a good childhood -- I just can't wait," Ezell said.
Doctors have not yet set a release date for the twins, so their parents are balancing time between their children at home and the hospital.
Photo Credit: Medical City Children's Hospital
