Formerly conjoined North Country twins to make public debut

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Nine-month-old girls who were formerly conjoined twins from New York's North Country are making their public debut at the Philadelphia hospital where they were separated.

Allison June and Amelia Lee Tucker and their parents were introduced at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Thursday.

Pediatric surgeon Dr. Holly Hedrick says Allison is the smaller but tougher twin. Amelia is the larger twin but she's still in intensive care for now.

Surgeons separated the Tucker girls during a seven-hour operation in November.

The infants had been joined at the lower chest and abdomen. They shared a chest wall, diaphragm, pericardium and liver.

The surgery was the 21st separation of conjoined twins performed at the hospital. The procedure involved about 40 medical staff members.

The Tucker family is from Adams, N.Y., about 270 miles north of Philadelphia.