An experimental surgery saved the lives of two babies who had been diagnosed with a medical condition called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, or TTTS, which can cause both fetuses to pass away, or trigger serious disabilities.

Before birth, which took place on Oct. 22, Owen and Gavin were diagnosed with the progressive disorder.

Consequently to sharing the same placenta, the blood supplies of the twins can become linked, thus sharing blood circulation. An artery from one twin (called the “donor”) enters the placental substance to substitute oxygen, as well as nutrients. But regrettably, the corresponding vein returns to the other twin fetus (called the “recipient”) through this arterio-venous connection. The recipient's blood gets thicker and hard to pump around his body, which can lead to heart failure and fetal death.

In nearly all cases of TTTS without therapy, al least one child dies. However, due to an extraordinary experimental surgery both lives of Owen and Gavin were saved.

The 90-minute surgery that took place in July was performed by doctors at Abbott Northwestern and Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, while the twins were still in the mother’s womb.

"We just took it as, we can either just mask this situation or we can take over the situation and take control of it and live life with no shoulda, woulda, coulda's, and that's kind of what we did, nothing was going to stop us from having them," said the father of the two boys, Jeff Cassellius of Roberts, Wisconsin.

It is believed that Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome affects about 1 in 1000 pregnancies. Up to 50 cases are diagnosed annually in Minnesota.