Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The surgery to separate the Yemeni conjoined twins Mawaddah and Rahmah has been completed successfully without any complications, according to Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, the Adviser at the Saudi Royal Court and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief).

The surgery was carried out by a special medical team led by Dr. Al-Rabeeah. Several achievements were made during this operation, the first of which was the immediate recovery of the twins after the surgery, which happened for the first time. In another interesting achievement, the twins did not need blood, which is rare.

The operation time was shortened from 11 hours to 5 hours. A team of 28 Saudi doctors, specialists, nurses and technicians performed the surgery.

The separation process proceeded smoothly and easily in all its stages and there were no complications, Dr. Al-Rabeeah said, stressing that the health of the twins is very good.

The twins were conjoined in the lower chest and abdomen, and according to pre-surgical examinations, they shared the liver and intestines.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah pointed out that the separation surgery was the 52th to be carried out in the Kingdom, as part of the Saudi Program for Separating Conjoined Twins, which is considered a milestone.

The program reviewed more than 124 cases of conjoined twins from 23 countries on three continents for possible surgery.

The surgery was carried out in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, and it has performed at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH).

Asma Majid Muhammad, and Hudhayfa bin Abdullah Noman, the parents of the twins, expressed their thanks and gratitude to the Saudi leadership for their sponsorship of the humanitarian task.