Ally and El Albalushi were born in November 2023 joined at the pelvis—an uncommon subset of an already rare condition. Conjoined twins occur in roughly one in 50,000 to 200,000 births; pelvic (ischiopagus or similar) fusion is rarer still. They shared abdomen and pelvis and parts of their gastrointestinal, gynecologic, and urinary systems.

Their mother, Sam, brought them to Seattle Children’s Hospital in the autumn of 2024. Dr. Caitlin A. Smith, co-director of the Reconstructive Pelvic Medicine program, led planning with more than 30 specialists: pediatric surgeons, urologists, gynecologists, plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, orthopedists, nurses. They met monthly. MRI, fluoroscopy, and endoscopy mapped what could be divided and what each girl would keep.

On 28 February 2025, at 15 months old, the twins went into an 18-hour operation. Teams made incisions on the shared abdomen and pelvis, separated bowel, bladder, and reproductive structures, then closed each child with absorbable mesh, soft-tissue flaps, and skin. Both survived. They spent time in intensive care, then inpatient rehabilitation—physical, occupational, and speech therapy—with movement limited while wounds healed.

In late May 2025 they went home. By the hospital’s September announcement they were crawling, saying first words, pulling to stand, and working toward walking. Sam said their personalities were becoming distinct. The photographs in the collage—the infants still joined in a crib, the toddlers in matching pink dresses in hospital beds, the outdoor shot in red collared dresses—are the public before-and-after of that year.

Pelvic conjoined twins cannot always be separated; shared vessels or organs sometimes make one life the price of two. Imaging showed Ally and El could each have a complete set. That finding, six months of rehearsal, and an 18-hour day in one operating room are why two girls now sit side by side on a picnic blanket instead of sharing a pelvis.

Sources

• Seattle Children’s Hospital press release, 17 September 2025
• PEOPLE, TODAY, KOMO News, E! News, September 2025
• Dr. Caitlin A. Smith, Reconstructive Pelvic Medicine, Seattle Children’s
• Family statements (mother Sam Albalushi)