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Carole Mikita ReportingTwo other sets of conjoined twins have undergone separation surgeries, pioneered here in Utah.
Many will remember the little girls from Honduras, Doris and Bessie Gonzales. They were joined at the tops of their heads and separated in 1996.
Also joined at the tops of their heads, Lisa and Elisa Hansen. Their landmark surgery in 1979, caught the world's attention.
Elisa and Lisa Hansen are now 28-years old. We last saw them four years ago at a summer camp. Joined at the head, they shared brain tissue. Doctors told their parents, with a 20-hour surgery, they both might not survive.
Dave Hansen, Twins' Father, 2002: "Those doctors were pioneering that surgery back then. They didn't have near the technology or near the equipment that they have nowadays, and it really is amazing. The doctors were way ahead of their time."
Dr. Marion Walker says he and the other surgeons invented the procedure as they went along.
Marion Walker, M.D., neurosurgeon, 2002: "Dr. Roberts finally had this concept that if we go slow and reroute the blood supply, we might have a chance. It works."
#hansen_now
We watched the Hansen girls grow -- celebrating their third birthday, as teenagers turning 15, at 19, looking forward to jobs. At age 24, Lisa's poor circulation led to less mobility and she was using a wheelchair. Today, Lisa Hansen works at the Developmental Training Systems in Ogden. Her sister, Elisa, greets shoppers at the Wal-Mart in Clinton and has activities at Clearfield's Pioneer Adult Rehab Center.
In 1997, the government of Honduras paid special tribute to the doctors who separated the Gonzales twins.
