Erin and Abby Delaney were born in 2016 joined at the head — a rare condition called craniopagus.
Conjoined twins occur when, in the early stages of development, an embryo only partially separates to form two babies.
Conjoined twins are rare, occurring in about one out of every 200,000 live births, experts say. But surgical teams are increasingly capable of separating many such pairs, putting the rare condition in the spotlight.
Keep clicking to see pictures of these remarkable individuals …
Erin and Abby Delaney were born joined at the head. The connection extended deep into their brain tissue, making separation especially difficult.
The Delaney twins were separated on June 6, 2017, by a 30-member surgical team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The surgery took 11 hours.
In October, 2017, Erin had been discharged but Abby remained hospitalized.
“They’re such happy, content little girls for what they’ve gone through,” said their mother, Heather Delaney.
After 485 days at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Erin and Abby Delaney headed home with their family in November 2017, just in time for Thanksgiving.
“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 the twins’ mother, Heather Delaney.