A pair of six-week old conjoined twin boys were successfully separated from between the breast bone and navel area on Thursday, CBS News reported.
The two also shared a liver, intestines and an area on their navel was also not protected by skin or muscle. During a news conference at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas, the boys' mother Jenni Ezell said her sons are doing well.
"I'm just so happy that they're here and they're alive and thriving," she told reporters. "It's the best feeling in the world."
The boys, Owen and Emmett Ezell were once thought to have no chance at surviving. Both were born July 15.
"The whole pregnancy was very frightening. I didn't know what would happen," she said. "I didn't know if they would make it. It's hard as a mom to know that."
Neonatologist Dr. Clair Schwenueman told CBS News tests were done to see how and where the twin's organs were connected. Surgeons then separated the joined liver and intestines. Doctors meanwhile said the most difficult part was separating a blood vessel which was shared in the liver.
"At this point they're as stable as we could hope for post-operatively," Schwenueman said.
When Jenni was 17 weeks pregnant she and her husband, Dave, found out they were expecting conjoined twin boys March 1.
"We didn't think they had a chance, that they weren't going to make it at all," she said. "So we decided to abort and it was the hardest decision that a mother has to make."
The couple found out an abortion was not needed and the boys would survive after they went to Medical City for advice about a scar from when Jenni had prior cesarean section procedures,
"I could not contain my joy," Jenni said, who added that since they weren't even looking for a second opinion, she felt that through the whole process God was leading them to "exactly where we needed to be."
The twins had a combined weight of 11 pounds and 15 ounces when they were born CBS News reported. They grew to over 16 pounds after the surgery.
Owen and Emmett are still in the hospital with no definite timetable for their release. In addition to the twins, the Ezell's have a 16-month old, and seven-year old.
