Surgeons at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia successfully separated conjoined twins Amari and Javar Ruffin ahead of their first birthday, writes Brian Brant for People.

The boys turned one on September 29, just over a month after their surgery. On October 8, the twins finally left the hospital with their parents Tim and Shaneka and siblings Kaylum and Anora to go to their Philadelphia home.

“Seeing them each in their own beds was an indescribable feeling,” said their mother. “It feels like we are beginning a new journey as a family of six.”

The parents found out their twins were conjoined during a routine ultrasound. Within days, they had their first meeting with a CHOP team and they soon found out it would be possible to separate the boys. The twins shared a part of their sternum, diaphragm, abdominal wall, and liver.

The doctors spent 10 months after the boys’ birth planning the surgery.

“We work collaboratively as a team, ready to combine our unique skills to achieve a safe separation and a chance for these babies to lead healthy and fulfilling lives,” said Dr. Holly L. Hedrick, MD, a pediatric general and fetal surgeon at CHOP.

On August 21, after an eight-hour surgery, the brothers were successfully separated.

Read more about the twins from Philadelphia and the surgeons’ work in People.

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