Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Photo:Texas Childrenâs HospitalTwo formerly conjoined twin boys are finally home, nearly a year after they were successfully separated.Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera were connected at the lower abdomen and pelvis when they were born on Jan. 18, 2022, according to anews releasefrom Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.The brothers also shared multiple organs, including small intestines and a single colon. It’s a condition called ischiopagus twins, per Texas Children’s.That same year, in August, the twins underwent a successful, 17-hour separation surgery. Their family remained in Texas for a few more months before returning to Las Vegas, where the boys are now “doing well,” per the hospital.“I don’t know what else we can ask for in life,” the boys’ mother, Lorena Barrera, said, according to the news release. “We have our boys here, and that is God’s gift to us. We are eternally grateful to the specialists at Texas Children’s.”Barrera and her husband, Alejandro Villalobos, “were surprised and excited” when they learned in 2021 that they were expecting twins, per the release. A short time later, they learned that the twins were conjoined.“We knew from their first interaction with the Fetal Center that the team needing to care for Lucas and Mateo was going to be massive, and we have all of the necessary experts in one place,” said Dr. Rita Shah, a neonatologist at Texas Children’s Hospital.The family temporarily moved to Houston so that Lorena could receive treatment at Texas Children’s Fetal Center before she gave birth on Aug. 17.Lorena Barrera and her husband Alejandro Villalobos with their boys Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Texas Childrenâs HospitalNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Doctors then prepared for the “complex delivery” with “very detailed planning and simulation training,” according to Dr. Michael Belfort, Obstetrician and Gynecologist in-Chief at Texas Children’s Hospital.Dr. Alice King, a pediatric surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital, said the “incredibly complex case” required assistance from “nearly every single surgical subspecialty” at the hospital.Lucas and Mateo weighed a combined 8 lbs., 4 oz. when they were born. The twins were eventually transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, where 30 different teams worked with them until they were discharged on Oct. 26, 2022.The boys’ family remained in Texas “for several months, and each twin underwent one final operation on June 28, 2023, before their family went back to Nevada. Both boys “are now starting to walk,” per the hospital.“It is from the hand of God that my children are here,” their mother said in the hospital’s news release. “The nurses and the specialists were excellent.“Lorena Barrera and her husband Alejandro Villalobos with their boys Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Texas Children’s Hospital"We are very grateful indeed,” she added.
Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Photo:Texas Childrenâs Hospital
Texas Childrenâs Hospital
Two formerly conjoined twin boys are finally home, nearly a year after they were successfully separated.Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera were connected at the lower abdomen and pelvis when they were born on Jan. 18, 2022, according to anews releasefrom Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.The brothers also shared multiple organs, including small intestines and a single colon. It’s a condition called ischiopagus twins, per Texas Children’s.That same year, in August, the twins underwent a successful, 17-hour separation surgery. Their family remained in Texas for a few more months before returning to Las Vegas, where the boys are now “doing well,” per the hospital.“I don’t know what else we can ask for in life,” the boys’ mother, Lorena Barrera, said, according to the news release. “We have our boys here, and that is God’s gift to us. We are eternally grateful to the specialists at Texas Children’s.”Barrera and her husband, Alejandro Villalobos, “were surprised and excited” when they learned in 2021 that they were expecting twins, per the release. A short time later, they learned that the twins were conjoined.“We knew from their first interaction with the Fetal Center that the team needing to care for Lucas and Mateo was going to be massive, and we have all of the necessary experts in one place,” said Dr. Rita Shah, a neonatologist at Texas Children’s Hospital.The family temporarily moved to Houston so that Lorena could receive treatment at Texas Children’s Fetal Center before she gave birth on Aug. 17.Lorena Barrera and her husband Alejandro Villalobos with their boys Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Texas Childrenâs HospitalNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Doctors then prepared for the “complex delivery” with “very detailed planning and simulation training,” according to Dr. Michael Belfort, Obstetrician and Gynecologist in-Chief at Texas Children’s Hospital.Dr. Alice King, a pediatric surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital, said the “incredibly complex case” required assistance from “nearly every single surgical subspecialty” at the hospital.Lucas and Mateo weighed a combined 8 lbs., 4 oz. when they were born. The twins were eventually transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, where 30 different teams worked with them until they were discharged on Oct. 26, 2022.The boys’ family remained in Texas “for several months, and each twin underwent one final operation on June 28, 2023, before their family went back to Nevada. Both boys “are now starting to walk,” per the hospital.“It is from the hand of God that my children are here,” their mother said in the hospital’s news release. “The nurses and the specialists were excellent.“Lorena Barrera and her husband Alejandro Villalobos with their boys Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Texas Children’s Hospital"We are very grateful indeed,” she added.
Two formerly conjoined twin boys are finally home, nearly a year after they were successfully separated.
Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera were connected at the lower abdomen and pelvis when they were born on Jan. 18, 2022, according to anews releasefrom Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
The brothers also shared multiple organs, including small intestines and a single colon. It’s a condition called ischiopagus twins, per Texas Children’s.
That same year, in August, the twins underwent a successful, 17-hour separation surgery. Their family remained in Texas for a few more months before returning to Las Vegas, where the boys are now “doing well,” per the hospital.
“I don’t know what else we can ask for in life,” the boys’ mother, Lorena Barrera, said, according to the news release. “We have our boys here, and that is God’s gift to us. We are eternally grateful to the specialists at Texas Children’s.”
Barrera and her husband, Alejandro Villalobos, “were surprised and excited” when they learned in 2021 that they were expecting twins, per the release. A short time later, they learned that the twins were conjoined.
“We knew from their first interaction with the Fetal Center that the team needing to care for Lucas and Mateo was going to be massive, and we have all of the necessary experts in one place,” said Dr. Rita Shah, a neonatologist at Texas Children’s Hospital.
The family temporarily moved to Houston so that Lorena could receive treatment at Texas Children’s Fetal Center before she gave birth on Aug. 17.
Lorena Barrera and her husband Alejandro Villalobos with their boys Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Texas Childrenâs Hospital
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Doctors then prepared for the “complex delivery” with “very detailed planning and simulation training,” according to Dr. Michael Belfort, Obstetrician and Gynecologist in-Chief at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Alice King, a pediatric surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital, said the “incredibly complex case” required assistance from “nearly every single surgical subspecialty” at the hospital.
Lucas and Mateo weighed a combined 8 lbs., 4 oz. when they were born. The twins were eventually transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, where 30 different teams worked with them until they were discharged on Oct. 26, 2022.
The boys’ family remained in Texas “for several months, and each twin underwent one final operation on June 28, 2023, before their family went back to Nevada. Both boys “are now starting to walk,” per the hospital.
“It is from the hand of God that my children are here,” their mother said in the hospital’s news release. “The nurses and the specialists were excellent."
Lorena Barrera and her husband Alejandro Villalobos with their boys Lucas and Mateo Villalobos Barrera.Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Children’s Hospital
“We are very grateful indeed,” she added.
source: people.com
