DALLAS: Formerly conjoined Egyptian twins Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim are visiting Dallas four years after marathon surgery there separated them.
Now six years old, the twins born joined at the tops of their heads arrived in Dallas on Tuesday from their home in Cairo. After their surgery in Oct. 2003, the boys stayed in Dallas for two years as their skulls were reconstructed, and returned to Egypt in November 2005.
These boys to me represent the culmination of a very long journey, where they are arriving at what we all envisioned would be a possibility, but it turns out to be a reality, said Dr. Kenneth Salyer, chairman and founder of the nonprofit World Craniofacial Foundation, which brought the boys here for evaluation and has been directing their care.
We re joyous. We re happy with them. They ve been celebrating since they arrived back to their home away from home.
Salyer said that during the two weeks they will be in the United States, the boys will be evaluated by doctors in Dallas and also travel to Arizona to get an MRI that should tell more about how their brains are functioning.
But just from looking at these boys, I m very pleased with how they ve done, Salyer said. They ve made tremendous progress.
He said the foundation has enrolled them in a Cairo school where they will have tutors and be able to continue learning English.
The visit was not only a chance to see how the boys are doing, but to reconnect with old friends.
The boys traveled to Dallas with their mother and 14-month-old brother while their father and two older siblings stayed in Cairo.
While in Dallas, the boys and a set of twins born joined at the head in Italy were guests of honor at a fundraiser for the foundation, which helps children with deformities of the head or face.
