Formerly conjoined twins, separated with rare procedure, going home from CHOP

Abby and Erin Delaney with their parents, Riley and Heather.
CHOP/Facebook

A pair of formerly conjoined twins who were separated with a rare procedure at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia this summer are finally going home.

CHOP announced Monday that Erin and Abby Delaney have been discharged and are returning home to North Carolina in time for Thanksgiving.


WATCH: CHOP mini-doc examines life, surgery of infant twins formerly conjoined at head


“Riley and I are so grateful for the care our girls have received here and so excited to take them home — just in time for the holidays," said Heather Delaney, the girls' mother.

The twins, born at CHOP in July 2016, were fused at the top of their skulls in a condition known as craniopagus, the least common type of conjoined twins.

Source/CHOPOn Tuesday, June 6th, surgeons at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia successfully completed the separation of 10-month-old conjoined twins Erin and Abby Delaney. The girls are from North Carolina.
In June, a teams of 30 surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other specialists performed the successful surgery and reconstruction on the then-10-month-old twins.

CHOP surgeons have separated 24 pairs of conjoined twins, but this was the first time they separated a craniopagus pair.

Doctors will continue to monitor Erin and Abby's progress as they grow up, and the hospital team said it's optimistic about the girls' future.

“As their parents, it is very neat for Riley and me to have a front-row seat to this and watch them overcome these incredible obstacles," Heather Delaney said. "We cannot wait to see what their future holds!”