Surgeons use virtual reality to separate twins with conjoined heads in a 27-hour-long surgery

• VR helped surgeons to separate two three-year-old twins conjoined at the heads.
• A team of surgeons spends hours of training using virtual reality projection.
• The final operation lasted for 27 hours and involved a team of 100 medical experts.

A team of international surgeons successfully separated two three-year-old twins conjoined at the heads after training and preparing for months in virtual reality simulations. The twins shared vital veins in their brains and underwent seven surgeries that included nearly 100 medical staff.
Three-year-old twins Bernardo and Arthur Lima were born in a rural region of Brazil and had a fused brain, a condition scientifically called ‘Craniopagus.’ The twins are the oldest pair to undergo a separation procedure by Kashmir-origin surgeon Dr Noor ul Owase Jeelani, a famed and well-known Paediatric Neurosurgeon.
Talking to BBC Dr Jeelani described this surgery as ‘space-age-stuff.’ According to him, it was one of the most complex separation processes which he has completed. The surgery was funded by Gemini Untwined, founded by Dr Noor ul Owase Jeelani in 2018.
Completing surgery over virtual reality (VR) before going hands-on
In an interview with BBC, Dr Noor ul Owase Jeelani said not all Craniopgus twins can be separated successfully, and for this, they actually had to spend months trialing their techniques using virtual reality projection. The CT and MRI scans of the twins were used as the test bed by a group of surgeons in a virtual reality operation room while seated in different countries.
The trial phase lasted for months before the actual surgery. Further, Dr Jeelani said it was the first time that experts from Brazil and the UK were connected via wearing VR headsets to practice and collaborate on a surgical procedure.

Before the final surgery, the twins had already undergone seven surgeries. The final operation lasted for 27 hours and involved a team of 100 medical experts. The surgery’s direction depended on Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, while actual surgery was happening in Rio de Janeiro. According to Dr Jeelani, as the twins recover, the team will wait six months to monitor their progress.
At last, Dr Jeelani said, we have equipped the local team of doctors and experts in Brazil with the capabilities and confidence to undertake such complex surgery in the future successfully.
Augmented and virtual reality in surgery
In 2021, Dr Jeelani invented a technique for correcting a brain-related condition called ‘Sagittal Synostosis.’ Dr Jeelani presented VR simulations to the parents of children suffering from this condition. This simulation showed how the skull would transform following the surgery.
According to published research in The Journal of Urology, VR simulations and models are used in planning advanced surgeries such as prostate cancer, reducing the number of surgical consequences such as nerve damage.
The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved VR-based surgical planning called Invision OS, allowing doctors to plan an operation in advance while wearing an Oculus VR headset.
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