By John Faherty
The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX (Aug. 14, 2008) They came out of the womb in an embrace, holding each other in a tangle of arms and legs.

The children, conjoined twins, were born at 10:38 a.m. Wednesday at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.

They are joined from the middle of the chest to the bottom of their torsos and are, for the most part, healthy.

They have two beating hearts and four healthy lungs.

They have the correct number of kidneys and bladders and spines.

They cry with each other and soothe each other.

"They are acting very normal for babies this age," said Dr. Stuart Lacey, a pediatric surgeon with Phoenix Children's Hospital who will treat the children for the foreseeable future. ...

... Fortunately, the birth was not too eventful.

"It went very well, surprisingly uncomplicated," said Dr. William Clewell, a perinatologist with Good Sam.

Clewell and Dr. Garrett Lam delivered the conjoined twins.

An hour later, Lam was still smiling.

"It was a fine birth," he said.

"It was exciting, but everything went according to plan."

Read the entire article in The Arizona Republic

Read more about the Mendoza twins at BannerHealth.com