Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated

Two conjoined infants were successfully separated through an operation last Saturday, Dallas hospital officials confirmed.

"They're on some breathing support, but they've stabilized," said Clair Schwendeman, a neonatologist treating the twins, ABC reports.

According to Schwendeman, incidents of conjoined rates are estimated to occur once every 50,000 to 200,000 births with survival rates, though variable depending on where the twins are conjoined, often extremely low.

In this case, Owen and Emmett Ezell were born conjoined from their breastbone to their hip bone, sharing a liver and intestinal tract.

According to a blog maintained by the boys' mother, Jenni Ezell, the couple originally planned on having the twins aborted after she and her husband were told the babies would not survive.

Though from Oklahoma, the couple attended an abortion facility in Dallas only to find out that, according to the doctors there, terminating the pregnancy was not their only option.

"Our doctor here basically said, 'These boys have a really good chance, this is not your only option,'" Jenni said, WFAA reports. "We were just floored. I mean, I could not contain my joy."

Born July 15, the twins weighed a combined 11 pounds, 15 ounces. According to CBS, besides being conjoined, the twins were born with a defect called an omphalocele in which the intestines are located outside the body and are covered by a thin layer of tissue only.

The operation took a total of 9 hours, during which time the surgeons had to determine how to connect the livers in each baby so that they could both digest their food.

Going forward, the twins face future surgeries; however, if all continues to go well, doctors say the boys could face a relatively normal life, according to WFAA.

"I look forward to holding them for the first time," Jenni said. "That will be a huge moment."