Updated

Doctors in Paris successfully separated four-month-old conjoined twin boys after a nine-and-a-half hour operation, Central European News (CEN) reported.

The boys, named Hassan and Boubacar, were born in Guinea in January and had been connected at the stomach, according to CEN. The boys were delivered naturally as doctors and midwives had not detected they were conjoined during prenatal care.  They are the first-ever conjoined twins to be born in Guinea, CEN reported.

Through donations, the twins were able to fly to France for the operation, which took place at the Necker specialist hospital. The boys shared a liver and a stretch of small intestine, requiring four pediatric surgeons and three plastic surgeons to perform in the operation.

According to CEN, the twins are recovering and their mother has received clearance to bring them back home to Guinea.

The surgery was funded by La Chaine de l’Espoir charity, an organization founded to help children around the world.