‘Bright’ Gracie turns 10

Gracie Attard – the Siamese twin from Xagħra whose separation gave her a future but killed her sister 10 years ago has a bright future, according to one of the surgeons who performed the operation, but her ordeal is not yet over.

Retired paediatric surgeon Adrian Bianchi, who played a key role in the separation of the girls, better known as Jodie and Mary, told The Sunday Times he still met the Attard family on a regular basis.

He describes Gracie, who turned 10 last month, as a “bright young lady” who is growing up, and loves playing and running.

The twins were fused at the lower end of their spines and abdomen, with each girl having two arms and two legs positioned at right angles to their common trunk.

Separating the twins was delicate and controversial because the operation meant it was necessary to sever the blood vessel serving as a lifeline for the weaker twin Mary (Rosie).

Looking back on the worldwide controversy that erupted when an English court decided surgeons at St Mary’s Hospital in London should separate the twins, Mr Bianchi believes the decision was the right one.

“I’m absolutely sure in my own mind that what we did was what I would have done for my own child in those circumstances.”