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Information about the Aguirre Twins

Formerly Conjoined Twins are Attending School and Developing Well

 

NEW YORK CITY, NY (October 17, 2008) - Formerly conjoined Filipino twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre are doing well as six-and-a-half year olds, living with their mother Arlene in a house provided by a charitable organization in Scarsdale, NY, where they attend kindergarten.

"The boys are acting age appropriately," said David Staffenberg, MD, chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, where the boys underwent a series of surgeries in 2004 to successfully separate them. According to Dr. Staffenberg, one of the co-leaders of the boys' surgical team, although Carl has some lingering developmental issues, Carl and Clarence are talking and eating and playing and fighting and getting around very well on their own. "They're acting just like other little boys their age," Dr. Staffenberg said.

There are no immediate plans for any additional surgical procedures on the boys' skulls, which continue to "fill in" with natural bone growth at the points where they had been joined together.

"There is no health issue with leaving the bone in their skulls as it now is," Dr. Staffenberg said. "Reconstruction surgery is not necessary. Any additional elective procedures would be done over time, in stages. The boys would have to be taken out of school for long periods."

"Right now, my colleagues and I think their schooling and social interaction with other children is much more important to their overall development, health and happiness," said Dr. Staffenberg.

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Medical Updates

October 17, 2008: Formerly Conjoined Twins Attending School and Developing Well
Carl and Clarence are acting like typical 6-year-old boys, says co-leader of their medical team. ... [read more]

July 09, 2008: Formerly Conjoined Twins Continue to Thrive: Carl and Clarence are Now 6 Years Old
Staged surgery becomes international model for craniopagus separations ... [read more]

April 20, 2007: Formerly Conjoined Twins Celebrate a 'Miracle' Fifth Birthday
New York City, NY (April 20, 2007) - Formerly conjoined twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre celebrated their fifth birthdays today at a party hosted by the medical team that successfully separated and cared for them at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore. ... [read more]

August 04, 2006: Carl and Clarence Celebrate Second Post-Surgery Anniversary
New York City, NY (August 4, 2006) Formerly conjoined Filipino twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre marked the second anniversary of their historic separation surgery with a party at their home. ... [read more]

April 21, 2006: Carl And Clarence Celebrate Turning Four Today
(New York City, NY) April 21, 2006 -- Carl and Clarence Aguirre today are celebrating their fourth birthdays with cake and presents and balloons in the living room of their temporary home in Scarsdale, NY, with their very happy mother, Arlene Aguirre. “All I ever wanted was a normal life with just my boys and me together, doing things like other families,” said Ms. Aguirre. “This is my dream.” ... [read more]

January 20, 2006: No News Is Good News for Aguirre Twins
New York City, NY January 20, 2006 --"Nothing noteworthy is the news," says Robert Marion, MD, pediatrician of Carl and Clarence Aguirre. "Carl and Clarence are two wonderful, normal little boys." ... [read more]