Gortex, a synthetic material used in raincoats, was substituted for the dura , a tough tissue layer that covers the brain. Surgeons patched parts of the infants' skulls with a mixture of tiny bits of bone and a strong glue. Both girls will have to go through more plastic surgery in the future. It is too soon to tell if the girls have any neurological damage. The girls will probably stay in the hospital for the next three months.
Doctors are pleased with the girls' progress, however, and optimistic about their recovery.
The doctors prepared for six months before the actual surgery. A computer program then combined the images from the three scans into one three-dimensional image. Conjoined twins are rare, but ones joined at the head are extremely rare, occurring approximately once every two million births. In the past 500 years, only about 80 cases of conjoined twins joined at the head have been known worldwide. Back home in Nepal, relatives gathered around their neighborhood's only phone, waiting for news.