An 18-month-old Brazilian conjoined twin died Dec. 24, months after a risky separation surgery.

An 18-month-old conjoined twin in Brazil, Aruna Rodrigues, died on December 24, 2025, months after surviving a 19-hour separation surgery performed in May at a hospital in Goiania. Born connected to her sister Kiraz at the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis, Kiraz died days after the procedure, and Aruna succumbed to severe complications while hospitalized at Hecad. The surgery, led by Dr. Zacharias Calil and a multidisciplinary team, was a rare attempt to separate twins with a complex shared anatomy. Though the separation was initially successful, the outcome underscores the high risks involved in such procedures, particularly in resource-limited settings.