Mooresville twins born joined at the head go home after 485 days

Courtesy of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia 

Twins born joined at the head have gone home to North Carolina, four months after surgery in Philadelphia separated them. Erin and Abby Delaney left the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Monday morning after 485 days. Mobile users, click here.

Their parents, Heather and Riley Delaney, of Mooresville, had learned they would be having conjoined twins about 11 weeks into the pregnancy and regularly traveled to the hospital for appointments.

The twins were born 10 weeks premature on July 24, 2016, and were separated in an 11-hour surgery performed by a 30-member team June 6. It was the first time the hospital had separated a craniopagus pair, the rarest of conjoined twins.

The girls will need more surgeries as they grow, but the hospital says doctors are optimistic. 

“The girls are inspiring,” said Heather Delaney, mother to Erin and Abby. “As their parents, it is very neat for Riley and me to have a front-row seat to this and watch them overcome these incredible obstacles. We cannot wait to see what their future holds!”

Watch Erin and Abby's story here: 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.