Heloísa and Helena never knew life apart.
They were born with their heads fused, sharing brain tissue and blood vessels. For more than a year, a team at Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto, in Brazil, planned every step using CT scans, MRIs, virtual reality, and 3D models. The first three surgeries separated about 75% of what they shared; the fourth inserted expanders to provide enough skin to close their skulls.
On August 15, when they were 2 years and 7 months old, the fifth and final operation took place: 15 hours and more than 50 professionals. They managed to separate them. But minutes later, according to the medical team, their bodies became unstable: one girl’s blood pressure was too low, the other’s too high. Helena suffered cardiac arrest at 23:12 and Heloísa at 23:26. The doctors tried to resuscitate them for 25 minutes. Helena was pronounced dead at 23:37 and Heloísa at 23:51.
Their father, Amarildo, thanked the team: “Every child you lose is a defeat, every child you manage to save is a victory. I’m sure you have many more victories than defeats”. The girls were buried the next day in São José dos Campos, their city.