The twins, Hope and Faith Williams, who were separated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, shared the same liver but had different hearts, being joined in the chest area. Sadly, the operation they underwent caused Hope to die, as her lungs failed. Doctors say that her breathing was supported by Faith’s own lungs. The girl’s parents were near her when she died.

Professor Agostino Pierro, who conducted the surgical team, said that the operation “was an emergency operation because there was a blockage in their joined intestine which could only be resolved through separation.” He also stated that the operation went according to plan and it lasted for 11 hours. They operated Faith even after her sister died, thus making the operation very complicated.

Faith, the other twin, survived the operation, although doctors encountered complications in her case, too. Although she is in stable condition for the moment, she is going to need more surgery to close her abdomen. For the moment, she is in intensive care.

Although the parents are deeply affected, Professor Pierro stated that they “are coping extremely well” and that he is “ grateful to them for their support.” The professor also said that this was one of the most complicated operations he had ever faced. The team which did the separation surgery consists in more than 20 people, they being renowned as the most experienced in Europe in this matter.

The twins’ mother, 18-year-old Laura Williams, holds the record for being the youngest mother of conjoined twins.