Conjoined Twins | Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Deal of the Day

Follow the story of conjoined twins Maria and Teresa Tapia and their transition to independence.

Stories

Formerly conjoined twins 'look great,' surgeon says
Doctor who led team at Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU...
04/13/2012 12:00 AM
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Documentary on conjoined twins
TLC (The Learning Channel) will air an hourlong documentary...
01/19/2012 12:00 AM
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Video series documents amazing journey of conjoined twins
Watch the moving story of conjoined twins Maria and Teresa Tapia...
12/31/2011 12:53 AM
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Faces of 2011: MARIA AND TERESA TAPIA
WHY YOU KNOW THEM: The 20-month-old twins from the Dominican...
12/24/2011 7:31 PM
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Formerly conjoined girls back in the Dominican Republic
Twins Maria and Teresa Tapia arrived home in the Dominican...
12/21/2011 12:00 AM
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Formerly conjoined twins leave Children's Hospital
Maria and Teresa Tapia acting like typical toddlers
12/03/2011 12:00 AM
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Separated twins Teresa and Maria doing 'very well'
Ten days after marathon surgery to separate the 19-month-old...
11/19/2011 12:00 AM
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Conjoined twins separated at VCU Children's Hospital
Rare surgery a first here; 19-month-old girls from Dominican...
11/08/2011 12:34 PM
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Conjoined Twins Timeline

April 8, 2010: Maria and Teresa Tapia are born at a hospital in the Dominican Republic. Lisandra Sanatis said she had seven ultrasounds during pregnancy but doctors did not know the girls were conjoined until they were delivered by cesarean section.

May 2010: Dr. Emilio Mena, director of Robert Reid Cabral Children's Hospital, asks World Pediatric Project for help. The medical philanthropy group's staff consults with surgeon David Lanning of VCU, a volunteer with the organization, about the case.

June 2010: World Pediatric Project President Susan Rickman and Lanning meet with executive staff at Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU and VCU Medical Center to present the twins' case.

Dec. 2010: The girls, with their mother and a representative of the First Lady's Office of the Dominican Republic, travel to Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU for an initial evaluation. At VCU, the girls undergo CT scans, MRIs and other imaging tests to see which organs they share and if separation surgery is doable.

Feb. 2011: Lanning, on behalf of Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, communicates to the First Lady's Office of the Dominican Republic that the twins have been officially accepted for surgical separation.

Aug. 31, 2011: The twins return to Richmond, accompanied by their mother and aunt Maria Reynaldo Valdez, to begin clinic appointments and tissue-expansion procedures.

Nov. 7, 2011: Surgery starts at about 6 a.m. After they are separated, medical teams work to reconstruct the internal organs they shared. Sanatis waits with supporters in a conference room at VCU and is visited by the first lady of the Dominican Republic, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández.

Nov. 8, 2011: After separation, the girls are placed in separate rooms in the pediatric intensive-care unit for recovery. Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU and World Pediatric Project hold a news conference to announce the surgery is complete and the girls are doing well.

Nov. 24, 2011: Maria and Teresa move to the pediatric acute-care unit, where they are able to share a single room in separate beds.

Dec. 2, 2011: The girls are discharged from the hospital and return to Hospital Hospitality House where they will live while continuing outpatient therapy and follow-up care at Children's Hospital.

-Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU

Extended HD video

See the full 15-minute video on our YouTube page.

Twins photo exhibit

An exhibit of photographs of conjoined twins Teresa and Maria Tapia by Richmond Times-Dispatch photographer Eva Russo will be on display at George Mason University from April 17 to May 11. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Mason Hall, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax.

The exhibition is sponsored by the university's School of Art and its African and African American Studies program.

For more information, go to www.evarussophotography.com or www.soa.gmu.edu/gallery.

Exhibit brochure