RIYADH: Fijian conjoined twins Jasepeli and Desicia were successfully separated after a 12-hour-and-45-minute operation in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The surgery was performed at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, part of King Abdulaziz Medical City under the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, adviser at the Royal Court, supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) and head of the surgical team, said the operation was completed in nine stages.
He said 34 consultants, specialists, technicians and nurses from anesthesiology, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, orthopedics, urology and other specialties took part in the procedure.
According to Al-Rabeeah, the twins were joined at the abdomen and pelvis and shared the liver, intestines, colon, anus, urinary system, reproductive system and pelvic bone.
He said the procedure was the first conjoined twins separation involving patients from Fiji and the 74th operation conducted under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.
The program has operated for more than 35 years, assessing 159 cases from 28 countries across five continents, he added.
The twins’ family thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the medical care provided and expressed appreciation to the Saudi medical team for the successful operation and the twins’ safety.
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• Read previous Arab News coverage of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program here: https://arab.news/rgdtx