RIYADH, 5 October 2003 — Egyptian Siamese twins Taliya and Taleen were successfully separated at King Abdul Aziz Medical City here yesterday. It was the seventh such operation in Saudi Arabia and the fourth at the National Guard hospital.
The operation was televised live to millions of viewers in the Kingdom and the Arab world via satellite by Arab Radio and Television (ART) satellite channel, as well as on the Internet.
At 1:30 p.m. local time, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, executive operational manager and head of the surgical team operating on Taliya and Taleen, announced that the twins had been separated. The operating team comprised 21 physicians, most of whom were Saudi nationals.
Preliminary X-rays and tests showed that the twins were conjoined at the chest and lower abdominal area, with a possibility that the two shared a single liver. During the operation, it was confirmed that the only shared organ was the liver, which was then split by laser and electrically ironed.
Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, said last month that he would pay for the expenses of the separation. The crown prince then gave his directives that the twins be transferred from Egypt to Riyadh, where they were received by the medical team.
The mother of the twins, Reem Abdul Kareem, told Arab News that she was a little nervous at the start of the operation but had not been afraid at any point.
“Dr. Al-Rabeeah assured me that there was an 80 percent chance of success,” she said. “He told me that it would be among the easiest separation operations he has done. I had great faith in his capabilities,” she added.
She said that she followed the successful separation of the Malaysian Siamese twins that was done in the National Guard Hospital and that is when she decided to contact Dr. Al-Rabeeah for the possibility of having her babies operated on by him. She then contacted her father, who works in Saudi Arabia, and asked him to get in touch with Dr. Al-Rabeeah.
She said that after the babies leave the intensive care unit the first thing she wants to do is “embrace them”.
“After that, I want to go to Makkah to perform Umrah,” she said.
The mother also thanked the crown prince for his generous offer and hoped that God would put it in his scale of good deeds.
During the press conference that followed the operation, Dr. Al-Rabeeah said: “First of all, on behalf of the medical team, I would like to thank Almighty that the operation was successful. I would like to congratulate the parents of Taliya and Taleen, the Egyptian people, and Saudi people.”
The crown prince, Dr. Al-Rabeeah said, was personally checking on the ongoing procedures of the operation step by step, and affirmed to him for the fourth time that he would take care of all expenses.
“Despite his great responsibilities, he was calling in and checking about their conditions, the last call was just minutes before the operation was over,” said Dr. Al-Rabeeah.
The head of the surgical team said that the operation finished an hour and a half before its scheduled time and that the surgery “went exactly as planned”.
