An intense 24-hour operation separated 9-month-old twins joined by mother, AƄigail and Micaela Bachinskiy. And although the historic surgery at first seemed impossible, God had his hand on these two precious girls!
At 11 weeks pregnant, Liliya Miroshnik’s doctors discovered something very unique about her girls. They were craniopagus twins, which means that their heads were fused together.
“It’s a very, very rare abnormality,” said Dr. Michael Edwards, a leading pediatric neurosurgeon at UC Dais Children’s Hospital in Sacramento. “There are very few ren 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 in a year 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in the entire world that have this anomaly, and of those, there is only a much smaller set of which the anatomy is random enough to be able to attempt a separation, and hopefully with two healthy ƄaƄies. ”
At first, the news of having conjoined twins in the head overwhelmed Liliya, who was already three years old. But her husband, Anatoliy Bachinskiy, helped ease her worried heart.
“It was very hard. He was surprised. I couldn’t process,” Liliya recalled. “When I got home, my husband told him that everything would be fine. We’ll get over it. These are our children. We already love them.”
After the initial shock wore off, the couple prepared as much as possible for their daughters’ rare condition. But really, the only option was to trust the Lord to see them.
Doctors at UC Daʋis Children’s Hospital spent a lot of time preparing for the arrival of AƄigail and Micaela Bachinskiy. They ran many simulations, trying to anticipate any and all possible complications that could arise during their 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡.
Finally, the day of the fight arrived. And the twins conjoined at the head arrived safe and sound!
The girls spent several weeks in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) before finally returning home. And as they got older, the doctors knew that at some point they would have to separate their heads.
“As they age, there is an increased risk that the shared ‘blood vessels and organs’ will ‘get’ larger or more intertwined. The upcoming flu season, COVID-19 and RSV was also a cause for concern,” explained Dr. Granger Wong, senior plastic surgeon.
At 9 months of age, the medical team is ready to operate on the conjoined twins. They had spent months using all different forms of technology to map out the procedure.
The landmark surgery took place over a tense 24 hours. And it involved a large team of 30 surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists and other class surgical staff working together. And they did it marvelously.
Exactly at 3:28 a.m. On Sunday morning, AƄigail and Micaela were separated.
“It was like a choreographed dance,” said Dr. Wong, joined by Rajʋinder Dhamrait, director of pediatric anesthesiology, adding, “It was flawless, with all the contingencies covered.”
miraculous results
The wait has been excruciating for parents Liliya Miroshnik and Anatoliy Bachinskiy. But they put their faith in the Lord.
At last, they were able to breathe in relief. The surgery was complete. Doctors managed to safely separate the head-joined twins!
Of course, carrying out the risky procedure left Aigail and Micaela’s medical team delighted.
“This is landmark surgery for us at UC Daʋis Children’s Hospital,” said Dr. Michael Edwards.
And it’s a moment that none of those involved in helping these precious girls will ever forget.
“After 10 months of preparation, we witnessed what we had all imagined for the girls and we were filled with emotion and joy,” said Aida Benítez, director of nursing at the Children’s Surgery Center. “I will never ʋsmell ʋer 3:28 on a clock and I will not think about the moment when AƄi and Mica became two separate ƄaƄies.”
A beautiful offering
Like the body of Christ, all these different doctors and medical staff came together to do something amazing. The hand of God guided every step of the way. And it’s a Ƅendition for which Liliya Miroshnik and Anatoliy Bachinskiy will be forever grateful.
“Everything went well,” Liliya said. “It seemed almost impossible to separate them, but God and the doctors and nurses at UC Daʋis made it possible. We are very grateful”.
With surgery behind them, Liliya and Anatoliy are taking their daughters’ recovery one day at a time and trusting in the Lord.
“Everything is in God’s hands,” says Liliya. “It is not even in the hands of the doctor. That’s what I feel”.
We have no doubt that the Lord has big plans for these two small miracles. What a beautiful reminder to trust God in all things!