WHEN doctors told Leigh Nesbitt she was carrying identical twins she couldn’t believe it.
But amazingly the twins have been more than identical on the outside - but identical on the inside
aswell.as they were also born with identical lifethreatening heart defects.
According to experts it has never before been seen in the UK and it amazed doctors who had to
repeatedly keep scanning the girls as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
The girls, who also underwent lifethreatening laser surgery in the womb to save their lives before they
were even born, were given a nil chance of survival without risky identical heart operations - then only a
20 per cent chance of surviving the surgeries.
But they have pulled through and are set to celebrate their first Christmas after the surgery at home with
their relieved parents.
Its a staggering chance of 60 million to one of identical twins being born with this condition and surviving so their parents have hailed their survival as ‘miraculous’
Miss Nesbitt, a full time mother, who lives with fiance Brian Wrightson, a decorator, at their home in
Sunderland, said: ‘We couldn’t believe it when the doctors told us that the girls had identical problems.
‘The chances of twins being born with this and then surviving is staggering - and even the doctors couldn’t
believe it.
‘We thought we were going to lose them, so to actually have them home with us now really is a miracle.’
The twins drama began in the womb when Miss Nesbitt was 12 weeks pregnant. A scan at Sunderland
Royal Infirmary showed that they were suffering from twin to twin transfusion syndrome, where one twin
takes all the nutrients from the other.
So at just 14 weeks Miss Nesbitt underwent risky surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle,
where surgeons separated the twins using laser surgery to separate the vessels that were joining them. It
meant that it evened out the blood flow between them.
Miss Nesbitt said: ‘I was terrified for the girls as I knew that the condition was lifethreatening.
‘I was awake as they performed the laser surgery through a keyhole procedure. It was nerverwracking as
I was told it could cause miscarriage for upto seven days afterwards, so each day I thought I was going to
lose them.’
Luckily the laser surgery was successful and the girls carried on growing normally.
They were born in July 2005 when Miss Nesbitt was 37 weeks pregnant and were delivered naturally,
Leah weighing 6Ib1 and Gabriella, weighing 4Ib14.
She said: ‘I was so thrilled when they arrived safely and I was able to cuddle them for the first time. I
really thought that they had come through the woods and we would be able to get on with our lives.’
But tests carried out on the twins showed that within 24 hours, the levels of oxygen in their blood had
dropped.
Doctors carried out scans on their hearts - and couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The twins were
both suffering from truncus arteriosis, a lifethreatening heart condition where the two major vessels
leading from the heart are joined together to form a single vessel, carrying blood to both the body and the
lungs.
Miss Nesbitt said: ‘Tests were carried out on both my husband and I and they told us that we hadn’t
genetically passed it onto our daughters.’It was a mutation in one of the genes, that happened before the
egg split into two.
‘We do feel very unlucky - to have not one daughter born with it, but too. The doctors couldn’t believe
what they were seeing.
‘They kept rescanning both the girls, just to make sure, because they had never seen it before.’
The twins had to have risky operations immediately, to replumb their tiny hearts. First to have the
operation was Leah, who was taken to the operating theatre at just two weeks old.
Because she weighed less, Gabriella had to wait a further two weeks for her operation in order for her to
get stronger.
The operations took nearly seven hours each, and doctors split the vessels that were joined together.
Miss Nesbitt said: ‘It was nervewracking waiting for them both to come back up. It was the worst few
hours of our lives.
‘We were told there was only a 20 per cent chance of them surviving with the operation - but they had no
chance of surviving without it, so we had no choice.’
Luckily the operations were declared a success, and the girls had to be readmitted to hospital this
summer for tests to check their hearts were still working properly.
This is the first Christmas since all the operations and tests have been finished - and the family are
looking forward to spending it all together.
The couple, who also have an eight year old son Joshua, are delighted that the girls are healthy this
Christmas.
Miss Nesbitt added “It is wonderful to have them home with us. Its something that we never thought we
would see.
‘They have been through so much - its been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us. But now we can
finally enjoy Christmas.’
Doctors have said the girls will need further surgery next year as they grow. But they are doing well and
have a healthy appetite.
Miss Nesbitt said: ‘They are both nearly walking and they absolutely love eating pasta.
‘They have such a strong bond between them too. When they each went in for their operation I had to
take the other twin in to hospital as they have never spent a night apart.
‘They cry if they don’t have each other. Leah is very placid and Gabriella is the fiery one. But they are a
perfect match for each other.’
A spokeswoman for the British Heart Foundation said: ‘This condition happened to both girls because
they have the same DNA makeup, as they have come from the same egg.
‘We are not aware of it happening in identical twins before.’