Conjoined twins separation surgery progress

• 10:45 a.m.: Doctors have been preparing the girls for more than three hours. They spent most of that time making sure Kendra and Maliyah were stabilized under anesthesia and positioning them so that surgeons will have access as needed to both girls' small bodies. A few minutes ago, the doctors made the first incision.

The first stage of the operation will be a thorough examination of the pelvic area, which the girls share, to determine what needs to be done. The surgeons' plan is based on all the images from MRIs and CT scans, but they expect some surprises when they're actually inside. What they find will determine how much reconstruction they do during this operation. And that, in turn, determines how long the surgery will take.

• 8:45 a.m.: Doctors are still preparing the girls for the actual surgery. The draping process, including hooking up IVs and monitors, takes about two hours before the first incision.

• 7 a.m. (Monday, Aug. 7, 2006): The medical team takes conjoined twins Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, 4, to the operating room.

It's a tearful parting, both girls a little apprehensive and emotional. Parents Jake and Erin and the twins cry a little.

The Deseret Morning News featured the twins in a special story. Click here to read the story.

Surgical team

• Pediatric surgeons:

Dr. Rebecka L. Meyers, coordinating surgeon; chief of pediatric surgery for both Primary Children's Medical Center and University Hospital and also an associate professor of surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Dr. Michael E. Matlak, pediatric surgeon at PCMC, professor of surgery and of pediatrics at the U.

• Anesthesiologists:

Dr. Daniel Evans

Dr. Simon Durcan

• Plastic surgeons:

Dr. Faizi Siddiqi, craniofacial surgeon, PCMC, assistant professor of craniofacial surgery, U.

Dr. Bradford Rockwell, chief, division of plastic surgery, U.

• Urologists: