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Yurelia Anyolett and Fiorella Gianina Rocha-Arias are conjoined twins. They were born in August 2005 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Connected at the chest and abdomen
Yurelia and Fiorella are joined at the chest and abdomen and face each other. This is called a thoraco-omphalopagus connection. Additionally:
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Their livers are fused together into a single organ.
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The right atriums of their hearts are connected. The right atrium of the heart receives oxygen-poor (venous) blood from the body. Blood then goes through the right ventricle and into the lungs to get more oxygen.
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Yurelia has a congenital heart problem (occurred as the heart formed during pregnancy). It is called double outlet right ventricle (DORV). The aorta and pulmonary artery are both connected to the right ventricle. Normally, the aorta is connected to the left ventricle. Despite the DORV, both of Yurelia’s ventricles are of normal size and function well. The DORV will require correction after the separation surgery.
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Fiorella has pulmonary artery stenosis – a narrowing of her left main pulmonary artery. This will require correction after the separation surgery. Fiorella also has a thick right ventricle and high blood pressure.
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Some blood is shared between the girls. The blood goes back and forth through connections in the heart and liver.
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Fiorella’s body and organs are larger than Yurelia’s.
How age factors into the surgery
Since Yurelia and Fiorella will be 2 years old at the time of the surgery, they may be stronger and better able to recover after surgery. However, their age also means they’ve spent a longer time connected. Some muscle and skeleton changes have probably occurred that may make the actual separation or recovery more difficult.
 The twins’ stay in the United States
Mending Kids International, a volunteer organization dedicated to providing complex surgical care to children outside the United States, arranged for the girls to come to Packard Children’s Hospital.
Yurelia and Fiorella arrived in the United States on July 25. Their evaluation at Packard Children’s Hospital started the next day.
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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