Updated

Over a 12-hour period, a staff of 40 medical personnel in Argentina successfully separated twin girls who were conjoined at the hip.

The toddlers, Luciana and Bianca Fernandez, shared a large intestine, urinary tracts and a pelvic bone, Central European News (CEN) reported. The 15-month-olds underwent surgery on May 2 in El Palomar, in Argentina’s eastern Buenos Aires Province.

The weekend before the surgery, 100 people responded to a call for blood donations and came to donate blood to help the girls, CEN reported.

Before the surgery, their mother, Paula Cecilia Lopez shared her thoughts on Facebook, posting, "My loves have just gone into surgery, seeing them like that breaks my heart, but we will be here waiting for them. I know that God is looking after you, we love you so much until infinity and beyond."

More on this...

Following the surgery she shared that the girls had been separated.

“We are happy for this great news but now they still have to adapt to their organs,” she posted.

Lopez has asked for donations to prepare her home and sterilize it before her daughters return.