Cook Children's Medical Center
Amanda Arciniega and James Finley, parents of the first-ever successfully separated conjoined twins, were met with a standing ovation during a press conference Wednesday at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
Just two days prior, A team of 25 medical professionals, including 6 surgeons, carefully separated twin infant sisters AmieLynn Rose and JamieLynn Rae Finley who were joined at the abdomen.
This groundbreaking 11-hour surgery took place on Monday at Cook Children’s and was successfully headed up by the medical director of pediatric surgery José L. Iglesias. This surgery marks a first for Cook Children’s in its 105-year history.
“Our team has significant experience with many complex procedures working here,” Iglesias said during a press conference on Wednesday. “This is something that we are incredibly proud of and very happy we were able to do.”
The twins were born prematurely on Oct. 3, 2022, at 34 weeks gestation, weighing 4 pounds, 7.8 ounces at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital. Since their birth, physicians at both facilities worked closely to prepare a delivery and postnatal game plan.
“We always try to prepare for any surprises and when you are dealing with conjoined twins, you are going to have some surprises,” Iglesias says. "The separation surgery will give AmieLynn and JamieLynn better opportunities to improve their health and development, and to grow as the unique, individual little girls that they have been since birth, regardless of their physical connection as conjoined twins."
To achieve this surgery, the Cook Children's Medical Center team dedicated months to the planning and collaboration of this separation, according to Iglesias. The surgical team studied scans of the girls, built models of their anatomy, mapped out potential surgical solutions, prepared the operating room, and rehearsed the carefully choreographed surgical procedure several times.
“It’s still very early in their recovery, but we are very, very happy with their progress at this point,” Iglesias told the press.
When asked why they chose Cook Children’s to have this procedure performed, Finley says he and his wife already have two other children that are patients at the facility.
Stephen Montoya
“We are already familiar with [Cook Children’s],” Finley explained. “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Finley says it was an emotional experience for him and his wife when they were able to lay eyes on the twins for the first time since the operation. “It was a scary journey because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Finley says. “A lot of doctors told us the truth about their survival rate after birth … a lot of conjoined twins don’t live that long, so we learned how to be strong.”
Currently, it’s too early to say when these twin sisters will be well enough to go home, doctors say. Instead, a team of medical professionals continue to focus on the recovery of the two babies, which means constant monitoring.
"Our Promise to this community and every family who seeks care under our blue peaks is to do everything for the child, and I'm so grateful this family trusted us to do everything we could to help change their girls' future," says Rick W. Merrill, President and CEO of Cook Children's Medical Health System. "This is a magical moment in Cook Children's history and really showcases the expertise of our medical staff and the highly advanced care we have to offer children and families in our community, state and all across the country."
