Twins who were born attached by the hip have celebrated their 18th birthday against the odds.
Emily and Caitlin Copeland reached the milestone having been joined at the liver for the first ten months of their lives.
The sisters from Houston, Texas, posed with the surgeon who helped separate them to mark the big occasion.
‘You don’t always see the long-term results of what we do, and it’s nice when you get to see a good one,’ said Dr. Kevin Lally, who operated on them at Hermann Memorial Children’s Hospital.
Caitlin was grateful to have reached 18 after initial fears the girls may not survive.
‘I think for anyone it’s exciting to get to 18, but in particular for us I think it’s just a really big blessing that we got to 18, considering what could have happened,’ she added.
The former conjoined twins were also on course to leave Houston’s Lutheran High North school as co-valedictorians.