Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen, conjoined twin daughters of Jesse and Amy Carlsen of Fargo, North Dakota, are scheduled to be separated on Friday, May 12 at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital in Rochester, Minn.

A 70-member Mayo Clinic team has cared for Abby and Belle since February 24, studying their anatomy in detail and preparing them for separation. On May 12, a team of 30, including 18 surgeons from various specialties, will be participating in the operation.

This page will have progress reports throughout the day on May 12, and a webcast of the post-surgery news conference that evening, which is tentatively scheduled for 8 p.m. CDT. Check back there for updates. There's been four updates during the surgery already.



There's a ton of local news vans all over the place. If you're in Minnesota, there's a good chance you'll see this story on your evening news.

Check out the pictures on their CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.o...=abbybelle

Update: 05/12/2006 5:15 p.m.
At 4:28 p.m. the remaining tissue connecting Abbigail and Isabelle was cut, for the first time completely separating the conjoined twins. Isabelle has been moved to a separate OR table where the plastic surgeons will perform abdominal reconstruction and skin closure. We expect the procedures to be completed in the next few hours. A news conference will be held this evening at 8 p.m. CT, at which time the surgical team leaders will provide details of today's events.

Aww, that's great news!!! Those two little girls are so darn cute!!!

This thread reminds me of that really old song that goes "Oh thank heavens...for little giiiiirls!"
[Edited 5/12/06 16:00pm]

aren't they the sweetest little things..?

http://www.caringbridge.o...1188f3.jpg
(picture is WAY too big 2 post)

i hope all goes well

SammiJ said:

This picture is cute, too: http://www.caringbridge.o...1188ea.jpg

SammiJ said:

OMG, sweet! I love the way they're smiling in that pic, so darn cute!!!!

Update: 05/12/2006 5:45 p.m.
The Carlsen twins were separated at 4:28 p.m. and placed in separate beds at 4:44 p.m.

TMPletz said:

Hurray for the team of doctors who worked long and hard to successfully separate the two girls. Can you imagine how grueling and time-consuming it would be? You would have to be sooo careful where you were cutting.

amazing!

Live newscast on the website in 30 minutes....

Update: 05/13/2006
Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen are doing well this morning after an uneventful night. They remain in intensive care under sedation, as planned, breathing with assistance of ventilators, and their vital signs are stable. We will continue to closely monitor their conditions. Their parents have remained at their bedside through the night.

Jesse and Amy Carlsen said, "Thank you for your support and prayers. It's amazing how our girls have touched so many people's lives. We are grateful for the outstanding medical care our daughters are receiving and for the team we are lucky enough to have."

Thanks for posting the update, that's great news! for modern medicine!