Doctors at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital discharged 23-month-old Guatemalan twin Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez on Thursday, July 3.

Maria Teresa has been recuperating from a May 30 surgery at UCLA to replace a shunt that helps drain fluid from her brain. Surgeons had also placed a tube into her stomach for nutritional support while performing an anti-reflux procedure.

Maria Teresa will stay at the home of a local volunteer family from the nonprofit group Healing the Children. Her twin sister, Maria de Jesus, who was discharged from Mattel Children’s Hospital on June 7, is at the home of another Healing the Children volunteer family. Both twins will visit each other often until their return to Guatemala.

“Although Maria Teresa is making steady progress from her recent surgery, we are still watching to see how she will recover from her bout with E. coli meningitis, which she contracted in April while in Guatemala,� said Dr. Jorge Lazareff, lead neurosurgeon for the twins’ medical team and director of pediatric neurosurgery. “While she has experienced a neurological set-back, only time will tell what lasting effects the meningitis will have on her. I remain optimistic that she will continue to improve.�

Both twins continue to undergo physical and occupational therapy in an outpatient setting.

In addition, her twin sister, Maria de Jesus, is still being treated for a small, post-operative scalp wound that needs more attention.

“The wound is healing nicely,� said Dr. Henry Kawamoto, the twins’ lead plastic surgeon. “Ironically, Maria Teresa had minimal problems from a plastic surgery point of view. Both twins will require future reconstructive surgery to improve the shape of their skull caps and normalize their hair patterns.�


“While Maria Teresa has an uphill battle ahead of her, she has many people in the battle with her and we are all praying for her continued healing.� said Cris Embleton, co-founder of Healing the Children. “Also, we are so appreciative that the twins have been able to be close to one another. Maria de Jesus has been a frequent visitor to see her sister and, as you can imagine with any set of twin sisters, they are truly helping and supporting each other.�

Healing the Children is the nonprofit organization that worked to bring the twins to UCLA last year for separation surgery, and arranged for the girls to fly to Los Angeles on May 22 for additional medical care.

The formerly conjoined twins were separated during a nearly 23-hour surgery at UCLA on Aug. 6, 2002. They returned to Guatemala on Jan. 13, 2003.