RIYADH, 28 December 2004 — Surgery to separate the Polish conjoined twins will be held at the King Abdul Aziz Medical City for National Guard next Monday.
Announcing the date of the surgery at a press conference yesterday, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the hospital’s CEO, said the surgery will be done in 10 phases in 15 hours. He added that a 50-member team which met on Sunday finalized the date and details of the surgery. “After several meetings and careful assessments, the multi-disciplinary team decided that separation of Olga and Daria is possible with a 70 percent possibility of success,” Dr. Rabeeah said.
He pointed out that there is a potential complication affecting the nerves supplying the lower limbs and pelvic muscles and sphincters which are weak to start with. “Also there is potential for meningitis because of the opening of the spinal canal and CSF leak,” he noted.
Dr. Rabeeah said the mother of the twins, Wieslawa Dabrowska, has given the consent to proceed with the surgery acknowledging the potential risks. “The surgical team will comprise 25 members including surgeons, nurses and technicians,” he noted.
Polish Ambassador Adam Kulach, Polish pediatrician Dr. Jolanta Jezewska and Dabrowska were present at the press briefing.
The twins, born on Oct. 8, 2003, at the Centrum Matki Polki Institute in Lodz, Poland, were brought here after Crown Prince Abdullah agreed to a request made by their mother to have a surgery separating them.
After a series of clinical, laboratory and radiological assessments at the medical city, the twins were found to be joined at the abdomen, pelvis, buttocks and spine. They share one anal canal and rectum with adherence of their lower urinary and genital systems. Daria has a complete urinary and genital system whereas Olga has a single, abnormal kidney and a complete urinary and genital system. There is a union of lower aorta (major artery of the abdomen) and vena cava (major vein of the abdomen) and they also share a common lower spinal with possible overlap of the nerves supplying the pelvis and lower limbs.
Dr. Rabeaah indicated that clinical and neurological examinations have shown weakness in the muscles and nerves supplying anal and sphincter, pelvic floor and lower limbs, especially the right leg of Olga.
Speaking to the press, Dabrowska said: “My major dream is the separation of the twins and I am confident of the success of the surgery.”
Ambassador Kulach said the babies are going to lead a normal life due to the magnanimity of the crown prince. “The babies will become ambassadors of Poland to strengthen the bilateral ties between Warsaw and Riyadh,” the envoy added.
Since 1990, a total of nine surgeries for separation of conjoined twins have been performed in the Kingdom. Three pairs of twins were from the Kingdom, two from Sudan and one each from Malaysia, Egypt and the Philippines.
