Separated Twins Doing Well

Two formerly conjoined twin girls Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen, separated in a daylong surgery on Friday at the Mayo Clinic, were doing well Saturday afternoon.

After the five-month-olds' first hours apart in what the Mayo Clinic deemed an "uneventful night," Abbigail and Isabelle remained in intensive care, under sedation and on ventilators, as their team of doctors had planned.

"Thank you Lord for answering our prayers!!!" parents Jesse and Amy Carlsen, of Fargo, N.D., wrote on the family's online journal at www.caringbridge.org>www.caringbridge.org.

"Abby and Belle are now two separate girls and just as beautiful as always."

The babies' vital signs were stable, according to a Mayo Clinic statement.

The 5-month-old girls were breathing with the assistance of ventilators "after an uneventful night," according to a statement released by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The sisters, who spent their first months with their noses just inches apart, were recovering in separate beds.

The Carlsens stayed with their daughters through the night. Jesse Carlsen wrote that he and his wife talked to Abby on Saturday morning "and her legs started to stir so I know she heard us."

"We will be there to make sure the first thing they see is our faces," he continued. "If all goes well I hope to have the first pictures of Mom and I holding the girls separate for the first time this coming week."

The family's Caring Bridge guestbook had recorded nearly 97,000 visits by Saturday afternoon. More than 300 supporters from across the country also posted messages Saturday.

"What a wonderful story to share with the world on Mother's Day weekend," a well-wisher from North Carolina wrote.

"WHOO HOO!!!" summed up another from Oregon.

The Carlsens thanked their legions of supporters in a statement issued by the Rochester-based clinic.

"Thank you for your support and prayers. It's amazing how our girls have touched so many people's lives," the parents said.

The Fargo, N.D., twins were born Nov. 29 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, joined from midchest to navel. Although they have separate hearts, they shared the sac around the heart, one bile duct, a vein and part of the small intestine. Their livers, diaphragms and pancreases also were joined together.

A 70-member Mayo Clinic team has cared for the twins since February.
Doctors had estimated there was a 90 percent to 95 percent chance that both girls would survive.

"The girls did great," said Dr. Randall Flick, the lead anesthesiologist. "The credit goes to them. I think they are tough little girls."

Donations or cards can be sent to: Town & Country Credit Union, 815 25th St. S., Fargo, N.D., 58103.