When you think of virtual reality, I bet you think of video games. But what if I told you virtual reality is saving lives? As technology has improved, more and more uses for VR have been found – including practicing for a painstakingly complicated surgery. When twins Arthur and Bernardo Lima were born in Brazil, their birth was considered very rare – they were conjoined at the skull, sharing parts of their brains and vital veins, as well. Only 1 in 60,000 births result in conjoined twins.

Even fewer are joined at the skull. Their parents, Adriely and Antonio Lima, were desperate to find a way to help their boys.

We had been living in the hospital for four years,” Adriely said.

There had been previous attempts to separate the twins, but the procedures had been unsuccessful, and many experts said that separation would be impossible. But for Gemini Untwined, a British charity, nothing is impossible.

Adriely and Antonio with their twins after the final surgery. Photo by Arthur Pereira/Rio de Janeiro State Health Department/AFP

Founder Noor ul Owase Jeelani, a London-based surgeon, worked alongside staff from Rio’s Instituto Estadual do Cerebro Paulo Niemeyer in Brazil. They used advanced VR technology to practice the surgery prior to the boys’ separation. They used detailed imaging from CT and MRI scans of the boys’ brains to create 3D and VR models so they could be studied in detail, spending months preparing.

Jeelani said that this was the first time that surgeons from different countries operated in the same “virtual reality room” while wearing VR headsets. “It’s just wonderful,” he said. “It’s really great to see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk.”

You can’t imagine how reassuring this is for the surgeons. To do it in virtual reality was just really man-on-Mars stuff.”

More than 100 medical staff worked across seven surgeries that took a total of 33 hours to complete. But in the end, the boys were successfully separated. When the brothers were brought out of the surgery room, the waiting area erupted in cheers and applause. For the first time, the boys were able to lay face-to-face, holding hands while they recovered in the hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

Bernardo and Arthur lie together after being separated. Photo by Gemini Untwined

The charity released a statement on the separation, noting how hard the surgery had been. “The separation was the most challenging to date,” Gemini Untwined said. “At almost four years old, Arthur and Bernardo were also the oldest craniopagus twins with a fused brain to be separated, bringing added complications.” The optimal age for separation is between 6 and 12 months old, it said. The boys will face extensive rehabilitation. They have never sat up, crawled or walked before. But, the family and doctors are confident that they will have a bright future. 

“As a parent myself, it is always such a special privilege to be able to improve the outcome for these children and their family,” Jeelani said. “Not only have we provided a new future for the boys and their family, we have equipped the local team with the capabilities and confidence to undertake such complex work successfully again in the future.” For a look at this amazing first-of-its-kind surgery, watch below.

Sources: Washington Post | Upworthy