Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez, one of the twins who was formerly
conjoined at the head, is recovering from an operation she
underwent Friday at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s
Hospital.
The condition of the 23-month-old twin was upgraded from fair to
good after a surgical procedure replaced an infected shunt in her
head to help drain cerebral spinal fluid in her brain that was not
flowing normally.
The operation also involved placing a tube in her stomach as
part of an anti-reflux procedure and for nutritional support.
She has been moved from the intensive care unit to join her
sister, Maria de Jesus, on the pediatrics floor. Dr. Jorge
Lazareff, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the
children’s hospital, said he hopes she will be able to return
home in a few weeks.
While in Guatemala, the original shunt was infected with E. coli
meningitis and removed in April.
Lazareff and a team of doctors were invited by the Guatemalan
doctors to visit the twins after the infection was discovered.
The twins were flown to UCLA on May 22 by the Healing the
Children Foundation, after Maria Teresa’s condition
worsened.
The parents remained in Guatemala so that doctors would have
enough space to work in case there was a mid-flight emergency on
the plane transporting the twins.
Maria de Jesus remains in excellent condition and was treated
for a minor scalp wound by UCLA doctors last week. Doctors expect
to discharge her within the next few days.
Last month while in Guatemala, Maria de Jesus suffered from an
episode of convulsions following high fevers.
Henry Kawamoto, reconstructive and plastic surgeon for the twins
at UCLA, said the fevers ““ a common occurrence in young
children ““ were not caused by the separation surgery.
Since the separation, Maria Teresa has recovered at a slower
rate than her sister, requiring three additional surgeries to
remove a buildup of blood in her brain.
The twins initially returned to Guatemala in January after they
were separated at UCLA last August in a 23-hour surgery.