Separated Twin Has Meningitis

One of two formerly conjoined twins separated eight months ago by UCLA doctors during a marathon surgery is critically ill at a Guatemala City hospital, officials said Friday.

Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez, who was separated from her sister Maria de Jesus in a surgical procedure that attracted worldwide attention, is being treated for E. coli meningitis at the Hospital del Pilar.

A spokeswoman for Guatemala’s Pediatric Foundation said doctors have discovered that a valve inserted in her skull to keep fluid from putting pressure on her brain has become infected.

The 21-month-old sisters were thriving until very recently, when Maria Teresa became ill. Her parents took her to the hospital for what they thought would be a brief visit.

“I thought it was going to be something less serious, but it turned out to be very grave,” said her father, Wenceslao Quiej.

Family members are at the girl’s bedside, and both family and the community are praying for her, the father said.

Maria Teresa’s prognosis is uncertain, medical officials said.

“The treatment she is receiving is appropriate, and her pediatrician, Dr. Ludwig Ovalle, is an excellent pediatrician,” said Dr. Jorge Lazareff, director of pediatric neurosurgery at UCLA Medical Center. “We hold the utmost trust in our colleagues from Guatemala and know they are providing Maria Teresa with the best of care.”

A team of U.S. surgeons separated the girls at Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles on Aug. 6.

The family returned home to Guatemala in January.

Wenceslao Quiej, who formerly worked bagging bananas near their village, now has a job making prosthetic limbs in a workshop across the street from the Pediatric Foundation of Guatemala.

The family also has a three-bedroom home in a suburb of Guatemala City near the girl’s hospital, which was arranged by the foundation.

Even before Maria Teresa became sick, however, her sister continued to improve more quickly than she did.

Babbling in bits of English learned during her stay in Los Angeles, Maria de Jesus loves to grab cell phones and pretend to talk, her father said.

Both girls went regularly to physical and occupational therapy and were progressing well until Maria Teresa developed the infection that landed her back in the hospital.

The girl’s decline is a blow to the family.

“We were happy because everything had turned out fine,” Quiej said. Now “we are desperate after this failure because we did not expect this.”

Times staff writer Monte Morin contributed to this report.