A surgical team at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis successfully separated 2-year-old twin girls who were born conjoined at the head.
The procedure, performed Feb. 24-25, took more than 24 hours from prep to close and recovery, according to a Sept. 16 news release from the hospital shared with Becker’s.
The twins, Hiyab and Wuhbto, were born in Ethiopia and traveled to St. Louis in March 2025 to prepare for the surgery. Craniopagus twinning — twins joined at the head — occurs in about 1 in 2.5 million live births and accounts for less than 6% of conjoined twin cases, according to the National Library of Medicine. Only 62 separation attempts have been made worldwide among 69 documented cases.
“The successful separation of Hiyab and Wuhbto represents far more than an extraordinary medical achievement,” Hossain Marandi, MD, president of SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and SSM Health system vice president of the pediatric service line, said in the release. “It is a powerful testament to what is possible when world-class pediatric expertise, compassion, innovation, and purpose come together in service of children.”
More than 60 clinical team members supported the case, along with partner organizations including Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital, World Pediatrics, Lola Children’s Home, Ronald McDonald House Charities and Ethiopian Airlines. Wuhbto has since undergone a cranioplasty to complete her skull repair, and Hiyab is scheduled for hers later this fall, the release said.
Other U.S. children’s hospitals have completed similar procedures in recent years. In 2023, Texas Children’s Hospital surgeons completed a 17-hour operation to separate conjoined twin brothers Mateo and Lucas. Also in 2023, Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, performed its first separation surgery, an 11-hour procedure for twin sisters joined at the abdomen who shared a liver.
Cardinal Glennon is a 195-bed teaching hospital affiliated with Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
