Hope Williams, one of the conjoined twins, has died

A conjoined twin is fighting for her life after her sister died following surgery to separate them. Hope Williams died on Tuesday night after "one of the most complex and challenging operations" ever faced by staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, central London. Professor Agostino Pierro, head of the surgical team, said Hope's lungs proved too small to support her breathing after her separation from twin Faith, who remains in a stable condition in intensive care. He said Faith had a 50-50 chance of survival and was "gradually improving", but he warned there could be complications. The twins were delivered by Caesarean section at London's University College Hospital last week with a combined weight of 10.6lbs (4.8kg). They were then taken to Great Ormond Street - the most experienced centre in Europe for separating conjoined twins. Joined from the breastbone to the top of the navel, the babies had a shared liver but separate hearts. Their mother, 18-year-old Laura Williams, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is Britain's youngest mother to give birth to conjoined twins. The condition, which is extremely rare, occurs when the single egg from which identical twins develop fails to divide properly after conception. Medical staff warned Mrs Williams and her husband Aled, 28, that their babies might not survive after a 12-week scan revealed the problem but they refused to consider a termination. Doctors hoped to wait until the twins were older and stronger to operate but Prof Pierro said his team had to begin surgery because of a "sudden deterioration" in the children's health. Prof Pierro said surgeons continued operating on Faith after Hope died, adding: "If everything goes well, there will be more surgery required to close her tummy but I can't tell you now when the surgery will happen."

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ITN | December 3, 2008

Tags:. .aled. .agostino. .ormond. .shropshire. .conjoined