Marathon surgery on conjoined twins starts

DALLAS, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Delicate surgery expected to take two days to separate 2-year-old Egyptian boys joined at the head began Saturday at Children's Medical Center Dallas.

The procedure is expected to last into Sunday or perhaps longer, The Dallas Morning News reported. Doctors believe the boys' brains are separate, but the twins share a complicated network of blood vessels.

A team of more than 50 doctors will work in shifts throughout the weekend. The surgery was expected to take 30 to 90 hours.

The operation "involves tremendous teamwork in a very small space with very little margin for error," Dr. Jim Thomas, chief of critical care medicine at Children's, told the newspaper.

Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim are on a custom-made bed that spins 360 degrees, "almost like a rotisserie," Thomas said.

After the boys are separated, the bed will split in two, allowing teams to work simultaneously on both boys.