conjoined at birth: the story of twins' amazing separation

special editorial submitted by friends steward partner midwest fetal care center

Breanna and Blake were just two ordinary parents excited to be adding to their family. They quickly found out that not only were they expecting, but Breanna was pregnant with twins!

However, the surprises didn’t stop there. At nine weeks gestation, an ultrasound revealed that their two babies might be conjoined twins. Breanna and Blake were then referred to Midwest Fetal Care Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they received the most advanced, comprehensive medical care -- all in one location.

“Being conjoined is rare, extraordinarily rare. But to be conjoined like this is not something we could even calculate,” described Dr. Joseph Lillegard, MD, PhD, pediatric surgeon at Children’s Minnesota.

When asked how she felt during her pregnancy, Breanna said, "being pregnant in a special circumstance, you feel very vulnerable. And everywhere you go, you feel like people are looking at you and wondering how you are holding it together. They [the Midwest Fetal Care Center] just treated us like people [with a confidence of] 'we have this' and 'don't worry about it because we're going to take care of it'."

In January 2019, Breanna gave birth to their twin girls --- Emersynn and Ellerie --- at 35+ weeks at The Mother Baby Center in Minneapolis. They went home with the twins knowing they would soon return to Children’s Minnesota for the next step: surgery to separate the twins.

Before Surgery At seven months old, Emersynn and Ellerie went to Children's Minnesota for their separation surgery with Dr. Lillegard and a broad team of pediatric specialists.

Before surgery, Blake explained a moment he and his wife will never forget. “I remember looking at Dr. Lillegard and she [Breanna] looked at Lillegard and said, ‘You got this’ and he looked at her and said, ‘I got this.’”

The twins were wheeled away from their parents very early in the morning, leaving them in the waiting room nervous and scared.

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“What scared us the most is all the unknowns. Not knowing if you’re going… if you’re going to take both babies home, not knowing if you’re

going to take any home, things like that,” said Breanna.

Emersynn and Ellerie’s parents felt every emotion possible during that time in the waiting room.

The Separation After over 12 hours of surgery with 25 medical professionals participating, Emersynn and Ellerie emerged separated and healthy.

The doctors and medical staff came out to tell Breanna and Blake the good news. “You could just see it on their faces, they were emotionally and physically drained, just like us. It was incredible,” said Blake.

Dr. Lillegard was extremely proud of the team that worked on Emersynn and Ellerie. “I cannot tell you how proud I am of the neurosurgical team, anesthesia team and the people in the room, they were just seamless --- they were perfect.”

The Reconciliation Emersynn and Ellerie were placed in neighboring rooms with a window wall separating them so mom and dad could be in one room and see the other baby in the room right next to them.

Blake and Breanna brought their

clockwise: Breanna during pregnancy; Dr. Lillegard + team members after performing Emersynn and Ellerie's surgery; the girls today at 2 years old

two separated daughters home healthy and happy.

“Thank you, Children’s Minnesota, for everything you’ve done for us. You’ve changed our life in more ways than you’ll ever know,” said Blake.

Emersynn and Ellerie are happy baby girls who celebrated their second birthdays in the new year.

“These two kids are going to have very full, largely uncomplicated lives because of this. The sky is the limit for them,” Dr. Lillegard said beaming with pride.

The Midwest Fetal Care Center, a collaboration between Allina Health and Children’s Minnesota, brings together a multi-disciplinary team of highly trained maternal-fetal medicine experts from Allina Health and pediatric and neonatal specialists from Children’s Minnesota. Open since 2008, the Midwest Fetal Care Center is a national referral center and regional leader in fetal diagnosis, fetal intervention & comprehensive fetal care for unborn babies with complex conditions.

Midwest Fetal Care Center offers mothers and babies the highly trained experts and cutting-edge technology they need in one convenient location. From prenatal diagnosis and fetal treatment, to delivery, postnatal care and longterm follow-up, the Midwest Fetal Care Center is with their patients every step of the way. Learn more at midwestfetalcarecenter.org.

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