Conjoined twins Holly and Carly had to be surgically separated in the UK in a pioneering operation at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital after being born face to face
Two surgeons who led the separation of conjoined twins four decades ago in the UK have been in touch to celebrate their 40th birthday.
Both girls had been born facing each other – joined from breastbone to navel – and were given the names Holly and Carly. Just a few days later the team at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, led by surgeons Lewis Spitz and Edward Kiely, carried out a nine-hour operation to separate them.
Despite the success of the separation, Carly died of heart complications around six weeks later. But Holly Queiroz, who now lives in Texas, has remained in touch with Prof Spitz including visiting London for his retirement party in 2004. Before her 40th birthday she was reunited on a Zoom call with him and Mr Kiely, who she had not seen for two decades.
Holly said: “I wanted to say thank you to them both, I truly am alive because of them and I know it was a whole different world 40 years ago, and things were quite new in this realm, but God bless them for having the knowledge and the ability. I am so thankful for them both because I have been able to live a really beautiful life and it wouldn’t have happened without them.”
Holly’s mum Jill Reich underwent a Caesarean section in 1985 and was told the news she had given birth to conjoined twins. Her parents were from America and the twins were brought to Great Ormond Street Hospital on the day they were born. Holly went on to have 10 surgeries in the following months and remained at GOSH for almost a year. During this time her dad had to keep returning to America for work and Holly’s mum remained in the UK looking after her and her then-three-year-old sister.
Teams at Great Ormond Street Hospital have since operated on 43 sets of conjoined twins – thought to be the most in the world at a single hospital.
After their call, during which the two retired surgeons wished Holly a happy birthday, Prof Spitz said: “We had never done it before so it was unique and it was an emergency. It’s great when we get to see them again, it makes you realise we saved their lives and you get to hear how they are doing and feel so proud.”
The operation itself on March 3, 1985, involved 26 clinicians. Prof Spitz said: “I was certainly nervous. When we started we had ultrasound but no CT, no MRI and so we were going in blind, we just had to do the operation. We had a cardiac surgeon with us in case they were joined at the heart. Imaging has been one of the biggest changes.
Mr Kiely said: “We were very aware that two babies were at risk. A lot of people were involved and they were all important as they allowed us to do the separation. Looking back, the improvements in anaesthesia and intensive care have made the biggest difference.
“When you’re a paediatric surgeon, you’re dealing with children and hoping they’ll have another 70 years to go. You are trying to maximise their potential and hope you are setting them up to ease their travel through life.”
Many of the hospital’s teams were involved in their care including theatre staff, orthopaedics, haematology, urology, orthopaedics, anaesthetics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, speech and language therapists and the ‘play’ team.
Holly said: “I’m very grateful to Professor Spitz and Mr Kiely, and thankful that in a small way I helped them learn when they did our separation so that so many children were able to live. It’s incredible to think what my parents went through. I know that my mum felt that Great Ormond Street Hospital and Professor Spitz, Mr Kiely and all the nurses there became family because we were there for the year, and that was really wonderful.”
Last month Mr Kiely and Professor Spitz returned to the hospital to meet with Paolo de Coppi and Joe Curry, who carry out the conjoined twins’ operations. The four surgeons, who have operated together previously, discussed the changes of the past 40 years, including the introduction of virtual reality headsets. They met up in Theatre 10 which was purpose-built for conjoined twin separations.
Mr Curry, Senior Consultant Neonatal and Specialist Paediatric Surgeon, said: “The day was a moment of reflection to consider how far we have come in the 40 years since the first separation.”
