Saudi medical team successfully separates “Saja and Duha” smoothly, in record time and without any bleeding; the operation now moves to the cosmetic and reconstructive phase, expected to last around two and a half hours

Riyadh | BETH

The medical and surgical team of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme successfully separated the Moroccan conjoined twins “Saja and Duha,” aged 13 months, on Wednesday at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, in implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, head of the medical team, said: “Praise be to God, we succeeded in separating the twins, Saja and Duha, smoothly, in record time and without any bleeding,” adding that the team then moved to the cosmetic and reconstructive phase, which is expected to take approximately two and a half hours.

Medical examinations had shown that the twins were joined at the chest and abdomen and shared the membranes surrounding the heart, as well as the liver and intestines. One of the twins also had a laryngeal problem that was treated endoscopically before the operation.

The operation had been planned to proceed in six stages over approximately 10 hours, with the participation of 23 consultants, specialists, nurses, and technical staff from anesthesia, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, and other supporting specialties.

The operation is the fourth separation involving conjoined twins from Morocco and the 73rd operation carried out under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme, which since 1990 has provided care to 159 sets of twins from 28 countries across five continents.