Surgeons at a hospital in Toronto have separated seven-month-old boys who were joined at the abdomen and shared a liver.

It took a team of 25 doctors and nurses about five hours to carry out Monday's surgery on Tinashe and Tinotenda, who were flown to Canada from Zimbabwe for the specialized operation.

"The separation surgery went as planned, with no unexpected complications," said Dr. Jacob Langer, who led the team.

Tinashe and Tinotenda shared a liver and were joined at the abdomen before the surgery.

"While we are optimistic about their prognosis, the boys must be monitored for any risk of infection or bleeding."

The boys are recovering in the critical care unit at the Hospital for Sick Children where they are on life-support equipment – a normal procedure after this type of surgery, according to the hospital.

Once healed, the twins will also undergo surgery for cleft lips and palates.

The boys are the 10th set of conjoined twins to be separated at the hospital.

The medical team included two general surgeons, two plastic surgeons, two anesthetists, eight nurses and a number of surgical and anesthesia residents.

The twins arrived in December but hospital staff spent several months studying how their bodies are connected, Langer told the CBC before the surgery.

"They were about four months old when they came here and they hadn't had any sophisticated tests done, [so] we didn't really understand the physiology of the blood flow from one to the other," he said.

The hospital learned of their plight from Canadian physicians who delivered them in July while working in a rural area of Zimbabwe.

They were flown to Sick Kids after it was determined that it was the only hospital that had the medical expertise as well as the financial assistance to cover expenses.

The boys are being helped through the Herbie Fund. It covers the expenses of bringing children to Sick Kids if they need specialized medical care not available in their home country.