Conjoined two-year-old twin girls have finally been separated by surgeons in a 15-hour operation.
Ysabelle and Ysadora Freitas, from Ceará, , were the first pair of craniopagus conjoined twins to be born in the country.
This rare phenomenon meant the girls had separate brains - despite being joined at the head. But they shared blood flow through complex vessels.
The mother, Débora, struggled to raise them with little help for 18 months, hoping that one day the girls would be able to lead normal lives.
Medics across the globe came together to operate in pioneering surgery on four separate occasions, the last in November 2018.
Mrs Freitas and Diego were able to hold their girls separately for the first time after the procedure, describing the experience as 'magic'.
Mr and Mrs Freitas, who said the twins are still thriving, were ecstatic when they found out they were having twin girls.
However, the scan showed something was abnormal with their babies.
Mrs Freitas said: 'When I had the ultrasound he [the consultant] said "Yes, it's two girls but there's a malformation. I'm not sure if they have a face or not maybe it's the stomach because it's very small. They could be conjoined".'