Formerly Conjoined Guatemalan Twin Girls Turn 10
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reaching that first double-digit age of 10 is a milestone for any kid, but for a set of Guatemalan twins born conjoined at the head, it's cause for joyous celebration.
The girls, Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej-Alvarez, garnered worldwide attention when they were separated in 2002 in a 23-hour surgery at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.
On Saturday, they'll celebrate their 10th birthday with a party at a private home in Malibu. Guests will include many members of the 50-person operating-room team, as well as the girls' school chums.
Jenny Hull, an executive board member of Mending Kids International, the organization that arranged the $1. 5 million surgery, says the girls' survival is nothing short of a miracle.
Conjoined twins have low survival rates.
(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
