Doctors remove baby's second head
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Rebeca is believed to be first person with second-head condition to have undergone surgery.
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Dr. Santiago Hazim gives an update on the operation to remove the second head of a Dominican baby that threatens the girl's development.
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(CNN) -- Doctors in the Dominican Republic have successfully removed the second head of a baby girl in a marathon operation thought to be the first of its kind.
Seven-week-old Rebeca Martinez had been born with the head of what would have been her twin, attached to her own skull.
Surgeons removed the so-called "parasitic head," which had a partially formed brain and facial features, in a 12-hour procedure.
"It went great," said Dr. Benjamin Rivera, one of several neurosurgeons involved in the complex operation conducted at Santo Domingo's Center for Orthopedic Specialties.
But he conceded it was "was quite difficult," and said the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical because the child lost a lot of blood.
The operation began at midday Friday and ended near midnight local time.
A U.S.-based charity that funds the orthopedic center and gives medical care to disabled children in developing countries, CURE International, is paying an estimated $100,000 for the operation.
Doctors had expected significant blood loss during the procedure.
Separating the blood vessel was challenging since they were intertwined, said Dr. Santiago Hazim, medical director of the hospital.
To prepare for the operation, doctors saved nearly four gallons of Rebecca's O-positive blood -- enough to transfuse her entire blood volume five times.
In addition to separating the undeveloped head, doctors repaired a portion of Rebeca's skull.
Doctors had expected the surgery to be easier than recently publicized cases of conjoined twins.
In those cases, doctors were attempting to save two lives. In this procedure, doctors focused only on Rebeca.
The second head will likely be sent to pathologists for a full examination.
Rebeca is expected to recover in a couple of weeks and develop as a normal girl.
