Successful Surgery In Barcelona Separates Conjoined Twins Who Shared A Liver

Six-month-old conjoined twins, Nuria and Marta Feliu, were successfully separated in a pioneering operation last month in Barcelona, AFP reports.

It took a team of 30 medical workers seven hours of surgery to separate the twins, who were connected at the abdomen and shared a liver. Despite the ordeal, the baby girls seem to be doing great.

According to a statement released by the Vall d'Hebron hospital, where the surgery took place, the twins have recovered without complication and are now leading normal, independent lives.

For mommy Meritxell Feliu, the fact that her daughters can finally lead independent lives is a huge relief. She gave birth to the underweight twins in August last year.

Still, according to a report on m24digital.com, Feliu said at a press conference that one of the sisters was having trouble letting go.

"Marta still looks for her sister, but Nuria is more independent, and does not seem to want to always be at her side. It's as if to say 'I've been at your side for a long time, now let me be alone," she said.

This is Spain's fourth successful operation to separate conjoined twins and the first in the northeast region of Catalonia, the Daily Mail reports.

According to AFP, conjoined twins are a very rare phenomenon -- with one in every 200,000 births. Survival changes are also low -- ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent.