RIYADH — The medical and surgical team led by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah started surgery to separate Iraqi conjoined twins Ali and Omer at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH) in Riyadh on Thursday.

The surgery comes in the implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The surgery is expected to last around 11 hours and is carried out in six surgical phases by a team of 27 doctors and specialists, in addition to technicians and nursing staff.

Dr. Al Rabeeah, who is an Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), said the twins are joined in the lower chest and abdomen, and according to pre-surgical examinations, they share the liver, bile ducts and intestines.

He extended thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for their continuous support and follow-up of the Saudi Medical Program to separate conjoined twins.

With Thursday’s surgery, 54 twin separation surgeries were performed as part of the Saudi Program while more than 127 cases from 23 countries were studied. — SPA