Twins Names: Mateo and McHale Shaw. (Parents Ryan Shaw and Angie Benzschawel say they chose the names because they both mean "gift of God.")
Birthdate: May 10, 2006
Hometown: The twins were born at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Their parents are from Wisconsin.
Type of Conjoined Twins: The boys are rachipagus conjoined twins, joined at the lower back and sharing a spine. Only ten percent of conjoined twins are connected at the back. They have separate hearts and livers, but could face spinal, pelvis and possibly brain problems later on.
Separation Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Separation Location: Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Separation Team: Surgical Team: Robert Keating, John Myseros, Philip Guzzetta, David Powell, Michael J. Boyajian, Ananth Murthy, Laurel Blakemore, Lane Wimberly, Renee Roberts, Karen Thomson, Hans Pohl
Medical Team: Dorothy Bulas, Naomi Luban, Kurt Newman, Billie Short
Assisted by a support team of medical professionals.
Medical Team: Dorothy Bulas, Naomi Luban, Kurt Newman, Billie Short
Assisted by a support team of medical professionals.
Separation Location: Children's National
Status: The boys remain in critical but stable condition.
Other Information: Born at 32 weeks' gestation. The operation to deliver them took 90 minutes, with another post-delivery procedure taking 2 hours. Visit the boys' site at CaringBridge.org by going to http://www.caringbridge.org, clicking on "Visit Site" and entering "MateoandMcHale."
