Surgeon Who Separated Siamese Twins is Honored at National Palace

Surgeon Who Separated Siamese Twins is Honored at National Palace
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic  4/11/2012

Doctor David Lanning directed the medical team that separated the Dominican Siamese twins María Teresa and Teresa María Tapia Sanatis last November 7, 2011.

The well-known Dr. Lanning, director of the medical team that separated the conjoined twins last November, was recognized under Decree 132-12. Dr. David Lanning thanked the President and the First Lady for their warm hospitality.

President Leonel Fernández and First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández honored Dr. Lanning with the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus in the Order of Gentleman for his humanitarian labor of having donated his time and professional experience as head of the surgical team at the Richmond Children´s Hospital at the University of Virginia.

The well-known Dr. Lanning, director of the medical team that separated the conjoined twins last November, was recognized under Decree 132-12. Dr. David Lanning thanked the President and the First Lady for their warm hospitality.

“This journey, that began two years ago with the birth of the beautiful María and Teresa, required a great deal of collaboration and effort on the part of the team,” said Dr. Lanning.

The well-known surgeon said he hoped to continue collaborating with the Dominican Republic and said he was happy to see María Teresa, Teresa María and their family.

Dr. Lanning has been involved in humanitarian medical work since 2007. He donates his time and professional experience to the World Pediatric Project, an organization whose medical team, directed by him, carries out medical operations in Central America and the Caribbean. These operations have enabled many children of limited financial resources to travel to the United States to receive medical attention, which is unavailable in their own country.

Dr. Lanning finished his general surgery training in 2002 after having earned his doctorate in Medicine and a PhD from the University of Virginia. After doing his residence in Pediatric Surgery at the Children´s Hospital of Michigan, he returned to the Medical Center of the University of Virginia where he currently performs general pediatric and thoracic surgery as an Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics in the Surgery Department.

He was the first surgeon from the Medical Center of the University of Virginia to perform surgery with the Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System and the first pediatric surgeon to use the system in Virginia. Dr. Lanning has become a supervisor of robotic surgery for the majority of surgeons at the University of Virginia Medical Center and continues to advance minimally invasive surgery techniques for children.

The parents of the twins, Marino Tapia and Lisania Sanatis, as well as their other siblings and grandparents, were present at the activity in the National Palace.  Others present included the Minister of Public Health, Bautista Rojas Gómez; Director of the Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital, Dr. Emilio Mena Castro; president and CEO of World Pediatric Project (WPP), Susan Rickman; the vice president of WPP’s Board of Directors, John Kemper; the Director of the Pediatric Program, Rocio G. Watson; a WPP board member, Kim Gottwald and John Duval, CEO of the Medical College of the Virginia, among others.

Separation Surgery for the Siamese Twins

The surgical intervention directed by Dr.Lanning, who worked with more than 20 professionals from the Children´s Hospital of Virginia, worked for more than 20 straight hours to separate the conjoined twins who, at the time, were 18-months old. The girls were conjoined at the thorax and abdomen and shared a liver and part of their gastrointestinal system.

During the operation, First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández shared the anxiety as she waited several hours with the twins’ mother, Lisania Sanatis and their Aunt Mary Sanatis, who traveled to the United States with support from the Office of the First Lady.

The surgery was carried out with collaboration of the World Pediatric Project of which Dr. Lanning is a member of the Board of Directors. WPP is helping to save lives and transform communities through training volunteer doctors, creating alliances and developing sustainable health programs.

The Dr. Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital where the twins spent several months, and the Office of the First Lady contacted the World Pediatric Project who took an immediate interest in their case and soon changed the lives of these two sisters.

The Tapia Sanatis sisters were born on April 8, 2011 at the Dr. Luis Eduardo Aybar Hospital. Since they were born, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández visited the girls regularly and immediately offered all her support to help them and their mother.