D separation surgeryTwo Siamese twins joined at the head held in 2025 in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, Brazilian pediatric neurosurgeon Gabriel Mufarrej participated. After months of recovery, they were discharged and returned home.
The Nigerian sisters were born with conjoined skulls and shared brain tissue and blood vessels, a rare condition known as craniopagus. At 19 months old, they were separated after four operations carried out over four months.
For Gabriel Mufarrej, the case represents an important advance for pediatric neurosurgery worldwide.
“Cases like this require months of planning and an extraordinary level of integration between different medical specialties. We had the opportunity to apply advanced technologies and innovative techniques that contributed to making the procedure safer and more efficient. Seeing these children recovered and with their families is the greatest reward for the entire team involved”, says the doctor.
The procedure was carried out last year by an international team made up of experts from Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria. Ten neurosurgeons were part of the main team for the operation, which lasted more than 40 hours in the operating room, and more than 60 health professionals from 20 nationalities participated in the project.
There was the participation of doctors Clarice Abreu, plastic surgeon and Mariana Tonon, pediatric anesthetist, as well as neurosurgeon Arun Rajeswaran, responsible for monitoring the children.
For the surgery to be performed accurately, experts used artificial intelligence resourcesthree-dimensional modeling of the skull, virtual reality, augmented reality and personalized implants developed from patients’ medical images.
After the recovery period, the sisters were medically discharged and returned home to Nigeria. The success of the procedure is considered a milestone for pediatric neurosurgery and the treatment of .
According to Mufarrej, the success of the operation also demonstrates the impact of international collaboration in highly complex procedures.
“In addition to the surgical challenge, this case showed how the exchange of knowledge between teams from different countries can expand treatment possibilities for patients facing extremely rare conditions. Medicine advances when experience, technology and cooperation work together”, he highlights.
*Under the supervision of Thiago Félix
