Abygail and Madysen Fitterer continue to recover at Mayo Clinic following a separation surgery...

Good afternoon, thanks for joining us today.

I'm Tracie Bettenhausen...

It was a long day in Rochester, Minnesota for the Fitterer family...

But today, Abygail and Madysen are no longer living as conjoined twins.

The latest word from Mayo Clinic is that the girls are in critical condition this morning.

But Mayo experts say that is typical for the first forty-eight hours after such a surgery.

The surgery took a little over six hours.

Dr. Christopher Moir says the operation was flawless. But he says there were some tense moments as surgeons separated the girls' chests and then fit their hearts back into their bodies.

Moir won't predict when the girls might go home from the hospital.

But he expects them to spend at least a few weeks in intensive care.

Moir also led the team that separated conjoined twin girls Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen of Fargo last May.

Mayo experts say conjoined twins may develop in as many as one in 50-thousand pregnancies, but they account for only one in about 250-thousand live births. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list