Sep 19, 2005 6:20 pm US/Central
World's Smallest Baby Turns One
by Mary Ann Childers
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
One year ago doctors at Loyola delivered tiny twins -- one of them, the smaller one, no bigger than a cell phone. They were delivered prematurely by caesarean at 26 weeks and six days. Not full term, but enough time for doctors to be optimistic. Today, they were truly celebrating.
The cake was bigger than the guests of honor, but twins Rumaisa and Hiba Rahman were clearly in the mood to celebrate.
Now Rumaisa is a healthy 13 pounds, but when she was born a year ago, she weighed only 8 point 6 ounces and could fit in the palm of one hand. Her sister, Hiba, weighed just over a pound. Now she weighs 17.
The doctor who first cared for them says they've not only survived, they've thrived.
"What I'm more impressed about is that they appear to be well on the way to being normal," said Dr. Jonathan Muraskas with Loyola University Health System.
Little Hiba was hospitalized three months, Rumaisa for five months. Although both needed laser eye surgery, Hiba will need an additional eye operation down the road. Rumaisa was hospitalized once for a minor infection. But their parents call their progress remarkable.
"Developmentally they are doing very good. They are on the right track," said the twins' father, Mohammed Abdul.
For the twins and the host of nurses, respiratory therapists, and hospital staff who helped them in those first critical weeks, Monday's party was a happy homecoming.
Doctors say they'll be watching closely for the next few years for any signs of developmental problems. But so far, they're ecstatic at the babies' growth and progress.
"I'm pretty confident they are not going to have any significant disabilities," Muraskas said.
Loyola now holds the record for smallest, second smallest, and lightest twin births in the world.
The hospital's neonatal unit has cared for more than 2,000 newborns weighing less than two pounds over the last 20 years and has one of the best survival rates in the country.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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