Separated twins finally head home
By Edward Chiao
Jan. 6, 2003 9:00 p.m.
Twins formerly conjoined at the head and separated at UCLA are
scheduled to return home to their native Guatemala on Monday
morning, following a press conference held in front of Mattel
Children’s Hospital.
Doctors cleared Maria Teresa and Maria de Jesus Quiej Alvarez
for discharge last month, but the Guatemalan medical team receiving
the twins requested additional preparation time to ensure the
twins’ care will continue seamlessly upon their arrival.
“The doctors, physical and occupational therapists, and
social workers in Guatemala City have been working very hard to
arrange for the girls to come home to the best possible treatment
and support system,” said Dr. Jorge Lazareff, director of the
UCLA Pediatric Neurosurgery Program and lead neurosurgeon on the
twins’ case.
“However, they have asked us for more time to finalize
their preparations,” he said.
The twins were originally scheduled to return home in late
October of last year, but they had their return trip delayed
because of “wound-care issues” according to Mattel
Children’s Hospital officials.
Instead, the twins celebrated an American-style Christmas,
despite the disappointment surrounding the numerous setbacks.
Both of the girls have recovered fully and are eating solid
foods and enjoy riding in the hospital’s child-sized red
wagons.
The girls, who were joined at the head, underwent a 23-hour
separation surgery at UCLA on Aug. 6.
UCLA accepted the twins’ case for humanitarian and
research purposes, and has taken on the $1.5 million cost for the
surgery and hospitalization of the twins.
Since their arrival on June 7, the twins have attracted national
and international media attention.
Their parents, Alba Leticia Alvarez and Wenceslao Quiej Lopez,
have remained out of the media spotlight, choosing instead to focus
on their daughters.
