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Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias |
 Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias are conjoined twins. They were born in August 2005 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
This Web site provides official Lucile Packard Children's Hospital updates on the evaluation and surgery to separate the twins. This information is also available in Spanish.
Updates are posted below. The links to the left provide additional information about Yurelia and Fiorella.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Formerly conjoined twins Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias have left Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and are now home in Costa Rica. The girls left Packard Children’s on January 30, 2008 and went to Southern California to visit Mending Kids International, the organization that helped sponsor the girls’ trip. On February 4, 2008, they flew home to San Jose, Costa Rica, where an entire nation will celebrate their successful return.
View the press release or click the links to the left to learn more about the twins.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Yurelia and Fiorella, now successfully separated, met the media today at Packard Children’s Hospital. The lively 2-year-olds were joined by their mom Maria Elizabeth Arias, lead surgeon Gary Hartman, MD, and many other members of their care team. Thanks to a hospital-wide effort by surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other caregivers at Packard Children’s, the twins are healthy and safe and preparing for their return trip home to Costa Rica.
For the entire Rocha-Arias family, it’s been a remarkable medical journey. “It’s definitely a miracle, and we’ll never forget so many who have helped us,” said their mom Maria.
View the press release or click the links to the left to learn more about the twins.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Marking a major step in their ongoing recovery from separation surgery, formerly conjoined Costa Rican twins Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias were released from inpatient care last week at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.
“The twins are doing very well,” said Gary Hartman, MD, lead surgeon for last month’s separation surgery. “Yurelia is almost fully recovered. Meanwhile, Fiorella’s blood pressure is returning to normal through medication. All in all, we’re quite pleased.” The two-year-olds are now outpatients, and have daily appointments with occupational and physical therapists to improve their strength and mobility. In addition, the twins have cardiovascular appointments with Gail Wright, MD, every other week.
View the press release or click the links to the left to learn more about the twins.
 Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Yurelia and Fiorella continue to recover well from their separation. Both girls have now been extubated and are breathing on their own in preparation to moving out of the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) and into a regular room the week of November 26.
Fiorella had a minor surgical procedure on November 19 to modify her chest reconstruction and repair her skin closure. During the one-hour procedure, Gary Hartman, MD, and H. Peter Lorenz, MD, trimmed and resutured the skin flaps used to cover the area exposed during the separation. The surgeons also replaced two bars used to stabilize Fiorella’s chest after the separation with a plate similar to the one used in Yurelia. The modification was made to make it easier for Fiorella to breathe on her own.
View new pictures and video of the twins.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Yurelia underwent successful surgery on November 14 to correct her double outlet right ventricle (DORV), a life-threatening congenital (present at birth) heart defect. Fiorella’s breathing tube has been removed and she is now breathing on her own.
Yurelia’s six-hour heart surgery was performed by Frank Hanley, MD, chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. Once Dr. Hanley corrected Yurelia’s heart defect, lead surgeon Gary Hartman, MD, and pediatric plastic surgeon H. Peter Lorenz, MD, reconstructed Yurelia’s chest wall.
The twins' physicians are very happy with their outcome so far. Doctors will continue to closely monitor both girls in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU).
View the press release or click the links to the left to learn more about the twins.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Surgeons at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital separated Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias in a nine hour procedure on November 12:
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6:30 am – Surgery started
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Around 11:00 am – Twins’ liver was separated
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Around 12:00 pm – Twins were completely separated and moved to separate rooms for reconstruction
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3:30 pm – Surgery completed
Each child had her own medical team during the procedure. Two comprehensive care teams—one for each girl—with representatives from nursing, anesthesia, cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric general surgery, plastic surgery, cardiac bypass and others, were in the operating rooms throughout the entire procedure.
Both of the girls had heart conditions that needed repair. Fiorella’s was fixed after the separation. Cardiothoracic surgeon Frank Hanley, MD, will operate to attempt to correct Yurelia’s heart defect some time this week.
The girls are currently recovering in the Packard Children’s Hospital cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU).
View the press release or click the links to the left to learn more about the twins.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Lead surgeon Gary Hartman, MD, has announced that the tissue expansion for Yurelia and Fiorella is complete. “The twins have handled the expansion well,” said Dr. Hartman. “Meanwhile, all of our care teams are meeting regularly to prepare for the surgical separation, which could happen in November.”
While Packard physicians are generously donating their time for Yurelia’s and Fiorella’s operations, the hospital will incur significant expenses in providing care to the sisters. Costs to be covered include nursing and support staff, specific medications, use of operating room equipment, and inpatient care prior to and after the surgery. Packard Children’s Hospital relies on your donations to help children with such complex medical problems receive the specialized care they need, regardless of their insurance status or family’s ability to pay.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The media are invited to meet and interview five of Yurelia and Fiorella's physicians on Thursday, September 20 at 2:00 pm in the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital auditorium:
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M. Gail Boltz, MD
Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiology
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Frank Hanley, MD
Service Chief, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Co-Director, Children's Heart Center
Lawrence Crowley, MD, Endowed Professor in Child Health
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Gary Hartman, MD
Lead Surgeon
Pediatric General Surgery
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H. Peter Lorenz, MD
Service Chief, Pediatric Plastic Surgery
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Gail Wright, MD
Pediatric Cardiology
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Cris Embleton, Executive Director of Mending Kids International, will also be available to speak to the media.
The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital auditorium is located at:
725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304
The auditorium is on the first floor of the hospital. All media should obtain visitor badges from hospital security. Hospital personnel will escort media to the auditorium.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Yurelia and Fiorella had their first tissue expander saline injection. The saline inflates the expanders and helps their skin to grow.
These injections will be done once a week. This is an outpatient procedure for which the twins receive anesthesia.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Separating the girls will leave a large skin gap where they had been connected. To prepare for this, three tissue (skin) expanders have been inserted to stretch the girls’ skin.
The tissue expanders are like balloons. Each week, small amounts of saline will be injected into the expanders. When they are at full capacity, they will give each twin an additional 8 centimeters of skin. This additional skin will help to close their incisions once they are separated.
Surgeons inserted one expander in each girl. It is under the breast and goes from the armpit to ribcage. A third expander is on the middle of the connection between the two girls.
The twins recovered very well and left the hospital four days after the procedure.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Yurelia and Fiorella underwent a series of imaging studies today. They had:
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CT scans of their heads, chest and abdomens
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Please visit the About the Twins page for a summary of the girls’ medical status.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Yurelia and Fiorella had their first outpatient clinic visit at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. They were examined by teams from:
The twins also had an echocardiogram. An echocardiogram produces images of the heart walls and valves.
 Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias arrived in California today. They flew from Costa Rica with:
- Their mother, Maria
- Dr. Gary Hartman (right), their lead physician at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
- Representatives from Mending Kids International, the organization that arranged for the girls to come to Packard Children's Hospital
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is located in Palo Alto, adjacent to Stanford University Hospital, approximately 20 miles north of San Jose, CA and 40 miles south of San Francisco.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, California 94304
(650) 497-8000
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