Conjoined twins receive scoliosis surgery 11 years after separation
Eleven years after conjoined twins Knatalye and Addy Mata were successfully separated, the girls are undergoing surgery yet again.
The pair received surgery at Scottish Rite for Children hospital in Dallas to treat their scoliosis, according to a hospital Facebook post on Thursday.
The sisters were apart for three months for their surgeries and have since reunited, ABC News' Dallas affiliate WFAA reported.
"It's something to be proud of and not to be ashamed of," Knatalye said, according to Scottish Rite.
Knatalye and Addy underwent a complex 26-hour surgery in February 2015 when they were just 10 months old to separate completely, according to Texas Children's Hospital, where the surgery occurred.
The girls were born conjoined at the chest and abdomen, and shared several vital organs, according to Texas Children's.
The separation surgery was the first of its kind to be successful, Texas Children's said.
"This surgery was not without its challenges with the girls sharing several organ systems," Darrell Cass, co-director of Texas Children's Fetal Center, said of the separation surgery in a 2015 press release. "Our team has been preparing for this surgery for months and we've done everything from working with our radiology experts to build a 3-D model of their organs, to conducting simulations of the actual separation surgery."
The girls have experienced a lifetime of hospital stays and medical procedures, according to Scottish Rite.
Knatalye and Addy needed the scoliosis surgeries due to severe spinal curvatures, and Addy's was particularly serious with her spine pressed against her ribs, leaving little room for her lungs, according to WFAA.
Both of the girls' scoliosis surgeries were successful and they are back at home, happy to be recovering and together again, according to WFAA.
"We just want improvement," Elysse Mata, the children's mother, told WFAA. "Feel better, breathe better."
