Dr. James Goodrich, the world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon who separated conjoined twins, died of complications associated with the coronavirus.
Goodrich, 73, passed away on Monday, according to the hospital where he worked.
Word of his death came in a tweet from the Montefiore Health System on Monday. It wrote: “The Montefiore @Einstein Med community is mourning the loss of Dr. James. T. Goodrich, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon. Dr. Goodrich passed away on March 30, 2020 from complications associated with COVID-19."
USA Today noted that Goodrich became internationally known in 2004 when he successfully separated twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre. It took a 16-member team of medical professionals 17 hours to perform the surgery.
In 2016, Goodrich was part of a team that separated Jadon and Anias McDonald in a procedure that took 27 hours.
Separating conjoined twins is "actually pretty awesome," Goodrich told CNN before the McDonald brothers' operation. "It's chaotic ... We've got it down to a fine art, but in the beginning, it was a bit of a challenge."