Doctors perform surgery on conjoined twins

Doctors have performed the first of two surgeries to separate a pair of conjoined twins, who are connected at the stomach and share a small intestine.

Conner and Carter Mirabal were born Dec. 12 at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

Aside from sharing a small intestine, the boys each have their own liver, but the organs are attached.

In a three and a half hour surgery Friday, doctors worked to split the boys' small intestine. Both boys are doing well and are continuing to recover, News4Jax.com reported.

"It's all worth it, it's going to be worth it in the end," Jasmine Mirabal, the boys' aunt told the news station. "It's worth it now, but it's really going to be worth it when they're home."

The boys' parents, Michelle Brantly and Bryan Mirabal, as well as their big brother Gage, 13 months, and extended family members have been keeping continual watch at the hospital.

The next surgery for the twins will likely be in six months, where doctors will first separate the livers, and then the boys themselves.

Though the pregnancy was unplanned, the family says they are grateful for the journey they are on. Michelle found out she was expecting twins when she was four months pregnant. A week later, doctors told her the boys would be conjoined.

The surgery's success will enable the boys to be taken off IVs and introduced to breast milk or formula, the Daily News reported. It also will allow for the chance for family members to hold the babies for the first time.

Friends of the family have set up a donation site for people to help with the medical bills.