Joshua and Jacob Spates “meeting” each other for the first time.

Joshua and Jacob Spates are twins who were delivered by emergency caesarian in January this year, six weeks before they were due. They were also conjoined at the base of their spines, at the rear of the pelvis and gastrointestinal tract.

The two brothers have now been separated by life-saving surgery and introduced to each other – face to face – for the first time in their lives. The operation was done because of a severe heart condition that Jacob suffers from. Doctors say that if they had not been separated, sometime in the next year or two, they probably would have died.

The twins before the operation

The procedure itself has been hailed as little short of a medical miracle. Just two dozen conjoined twins have ever been successfully separated, anywhere in the world and only 15 % of them are connected as they were. Fewer than a third of conjoined twins survive more than one day after birth.

The boys’ mother, Adrienne Spates, said the babies are doing well since their operation. Jacob remains in intensive care and needs a few more operations, while Joshua is already out of the unit and is being prepared to go home.

Have a listen to what the doctors had to say afterwards – these guys are true legends:

[Source: Daily Mail]