Formerly Conjoined Twins Visit BiometEgyptian twins Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim wore matching polo shirts and drew on Etch A Sketch® pads Tuesday afternoon at Biomet headquarters, Warsaw.
The 8-year-old brothers were conjoined at the head at birth, and it has been more than six years since Mohamed received a Biomet lactosorb implant.
The implant helped form Mohamed's skull after separation surgery from his conjoined brother Ahmed.The brothers and their father Ibrahim Gad and mother Sabah Abou El Wafa visited Biomet headquarters in Warsaw Tuesday.
The family live in Cairo, Egypt, where the boys are first graders. Tuesday was the family's first time visiting Warsaw.
The family met with Biomet engineers who designed and made the implant that allowed Mohamed to lead a more normal life.
A press conference was held Tuesday afternoon at the Dane Miller Auditorium at Biomet to discuss the surgery.
The boys are like other 8-year-olds. Their favorite foods are cheese pizza and macaroni and cheese, and they like to sing Barney and play Nintendo Wii. Their main language is Arabic, but they are taking English classes in Egypt where they currently live.
The unique thing about the brothers is that they were born as conjoined twins June 2, 2001, in Qos, Egypt, (500 miles south of Cairo).
The boys had a craniopagus conjoint birth where they were only connected at the cranium. It is a rare occurrence, comprising only 2 percent of conjoined twin births. It occurs approximately once in every 10 million live births.
Skin expanders, placed in their heads and thighs, created tissue that was used to cover the wounds resulting from the separation.
On top of the grafts, doctors expanded skin from the boys' scalps over a three-or four-month period before surgery, and the skin formed "flaps" that covered the whole area of the surgery after the separation.
They were separated Oct. 11 and 12, 2003, at the age of 2 years and four months, when the twins underwent the 34-hour separation surgery led by Dr. Ken Salyer, a facial and cranial surgeon.
Salyer led the team of 40 doctors and nurses to care for the twins after the surgery in Dallas, Texas.
In 2005, the twins underwent separate reconstructive surgeries to repair their skull defects. Mohamed received a special custom device manufactured by Biomet.
Salyer; Jon Serbousek, Biomet Orthopedics president; and Dr. Dane Miller, president and CEO of Biomet Inc. spoke Tuesday about the twins.
Biomet Inc. joined with Salyer to lead a medical team that separated the then 18-month-old Egyptian twins to invent a covering for the boys' skulls.
Salyer is founding chairman and director of the International Craniofacial Institute and Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment Center.
Salyer said few children with a craniopagus conjoint birth are able to successfully be separated. He said to his knowledge, there are no children that have successfully completed the reconstructive surgery.
He said the boys are now living normal lives, although Ahmed has motor skill challenges with writing and the boys have some trouble walking.
The boys will undergo testing next week in Dallas to test their motor and cognitive skills and will return to Egypt.
Serbousek said the surgery was made possible through collaborative efforts of Biomet team members and Salyer.
"The energy and technology that was brought together is demonstrated in these boys today," Serbousek said.
Miller said Biomet decided to work with Salyer to help the brothers solve their cranial defect problem.
"Those of us in Warsaw had hoped we would have a day like today to welcome Mohamed and Ahmed to visit us," Miller said.
Ned Hamman, Biomet engineer, was one of the team members who was instrumental in designing and shaping Mohamed's implant for his skull.
Hamman said Tuesday was his second time for spending time with the Ibrahim's. He previously was introduced to the family in Dallas when he was present for Mohamed's constructive surgery on his skull.
"The boys are so full of energy, and to see them running up and down the hall is amazing for what they have been through," Hamman said.
