The girl had her second head removed

A unique surgical operation was successfully completed in the Dominican Republic - two-month-old Rebecca Martinez, who was born with two heads, had her extra head removed. Led by Los Angeles neurosurgeons, the medical team completed the operation in 13 hours.

Doctors removed the second head, which partially formed the brain, ears, eyes and lips. "The second head grows faster than the bottom one, and if we don't remove it, the baby won't be able to lift its head by three months," Jorge Lazareff, director of pediatric surgery at the University of California, who performed the successful operation to separate Siamese twins in 2002, told reporters.

According to local media, the fact that both heads have common arteries makes the forthcoming surgical intervention particularly difficult. Doctors believe that the "extra" head "should have belonged" to Rebecca's twin sister, who never formed.

The operation is financed by an international charitable foundation.