Hoping for another miracle

01:10 AM CST on Thursday, February 17, 2005

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV

The worldwide reputation of local surgeons has now brought another set of conjoined twins to North Texas.

This set of twins, two girls from Italy named Anastasia and Tatiana, present even more of a challenge than the Egyptian twins separated more than a year ago.

They are beautiful and unique baby girls. Anastasia spends most of her time trying to do somersaults, while Tatiana would much rather look at people and babble to them in baby talk.

"I take care of them like normal children."

The twin sisters are like normal one-year-olds in many ways, except for one big difference: they are conjoined at the head, a condition so rare it happens only in one in 2.5 million births.

"This is a gift," said father Alin Dogaru. "It maybe looks strange for other people, but it is a gift."

Alin and Claudia Dogaru have traveled to the United States in search of a miracle for their twin girls, after being turned away from European hospitals who said they couldn't help. The Dogarus heard the amazing story of Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrahim, a pair of Egypitian twins also born joined at the head, and who now remain the only pair of craniophagus twins successfully separated.

"We're motivated by the philosophy that you save a life, and you save the world," said craniofacial surgeon Dr. Kenneth Salyer.

Salyer, who heads the World Craniofacial Foundation, led efforts to separate the Egyptian twins and is now spearheading the case of Tatiana and Anastasia.

Doctors know their brains share a complex series of vessels similar to the challenges of the Egyptian twins. The girls also have some internal complications.

"Considering this unique anatomy, there is a good chance that these girls would not survive, and that is the main overriding motivation for us to address a plan to successfully separate both girls where we can have two girls that would live," Salyer said.

This Byzantine Catholic priest and his wife understand the stakes, and believe doctors in Dallas are their daughters' only chance.

"I hope that they will be able to separate them," Claudia Dogaru said. "This is our hope."

There is no question that what surgeons learned from the experience of the Egyptian twins will help with the Dogaru twins. Salyer said he's confident they can grow enough skin to cover the separation wounds.

However, doctors haven't yet determined how much of their brain is connected - and as Salyer said, the bigger challenge may be determining how their bodies work together. They're separate, but need each other to survive.

Most involved agree, if the surgery happens, it would surely break new medical ground - and garner even more international attention.