RIYADH, 15 December 2004 — Pre-surgery tests on the Polish conjoined infant girls, Daria and Olga Kolacz who arrived here on Sunday, have begun at the King Abdul Aziz Medical City for the National Guard. After tests and examinations, surgery will be performed to separate the twins; the operation is in response to a request made by the girls’ mother, Wieslawa Dabrowska, to Crown Prince Abdullah. Since 1990, a total of nine operations for the separation of conjoined twins have been performed in the Kingdom.
Sami Al-Shalaan, director general of public relations at the hospital, said: “We have begun with CT scans which will be followed by MRI and other allied laboratory tests.” He added that the tests would take about two weeks after which doctors will determine a date for the surgery.
A team consisting of 70 medical personnel has been assigned to the twins for the period of their stay in the Kingdom. “Arrangements have been made for a live telecast of the surgery on Saudi TV. Journalists at the hospital’s media center will be allowed to question the chief of the surgical team, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah,” Al-Shalaan said. He noted that the hospital is currently negotiating with Polish TV for the operation to be broadcast in Poland.
“The initial medical reports sent by e-mail showed that the twins have a shared backbone, colon, pelvis, anal opening and genital system and possibly shared urinary system,” Dr. Al-Rabeeah said. This will be the sixth such surgery to be carried out at this hospital.
In a statement to the press, Dr. Al-Rabeeah thanked the Saudi Ambassador in Warsaw, Osama Ahmad Al-Sanoosi, for making the necessary travel arrangements. The mother of the twins thanked the crown prince, the hospital staff and many others for their hospitality and assistance.
“We have been made so welcome; we feel at home here. I am sure that we have come to the right place and I am very happy with the support and help we have been given,” she said.
“The crown prince’s sponsorship of the surgery is a gesture extended in consideration of the strong bilateral ties between our two countries,” said Andrzej Wozniak, deputy head of the Polish mission. “The Kingdom will be in the hearts of all Poles because of his noble and humane act,” he added.
