Formerly conjoined Texas twins reunited at home after long recovery

Together again.

One of the conjoined twin girls separated at a Houston hospital in February is back home with her sister after being discharged from the hospital.

The girls, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata, were born in April 2014 at Texas Children’s Hospital, in Houston, where they were successfully separated 10 months later.

Knatalye Hope was discharged on May 8 and on Tuesday Adeline joined her at home after recovering from the surgery.

“We are so pleased with the progress of both Adeline and Knatalye following their first-of-its-kind separation surgery earlier this year,” said Dr. Darrell Cass, co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center in a statement. “They will both require additional therapies as they continue to grow, but we are thrilled with their outcomes and are optimistic they will continue to do very well.”

The girls, who weighed about 3 pounds, 7 ounces each at the time of birth, underwent several surgeries in preparation for their separation earlier this year.

In February, a team of more than 26 doctors and nurses worked for about 26 hours to separate the girls, who shared a chest wall, lungs, heart lining and other organs.

The family said it will continue to reside in Houston while the girls have their follow-up appointments at the hospital. They will then return to their hometown of Lubbock.

"The past year has been such a whirlwind for our family and we are so thankful we can finally have both girls home with us," said Elysse Mata, mother of the twins, in a statement.

"In addition to the great care our girls received, the thoughts, prayers and outpouring of love from the community really helped get us through the last year and we are grateful for everyone's continued support."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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