RIYADH, 8 October 2003 — Siamese twins Taliya and Taleen, who were successfully separated last Saturday, will return to Egypt at the beginning of Ramadan, according to Dr. Abdullah Rabeeah, who led the complicated operation at King Abdul Aziz Medical City.
He said the baby girls would be moved to the children’s ward of the hospital from the ICU by the end of this week. “The rehabilitation and naturopathic treatment of the twins will not take long,” he told Al-Riyadh Arabic daily.
It was the fourth operation on Siamese twins at King Abdul Aziz Medical City. The first operation was conducted on Saudi twins Hasan and Hussein in 1998. The second was on Sudanese Najla and Naseeba while the third on Malaysian Muhammad and Ahmad.
Dr. Fahd Al-Abdul Jabbar, adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, said the crown prince was closely following the operation, which he paid for out of his own pocket.
Dr. Hala Alam, consultant at the intensive care unit for children, told Okaz that the condition of the Egyptian twins was stable.
A press statement issued by the hospital yesterday said the children were taken off the respirator on Monday. “The twins’ hearts, lungs, livers and kidneys are now stable,” it added.
Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie visited the twins on Sunday and congratulated the surgical team led by Dr. Rabeeah for the operation’s success.
Dr. Rabeeah, who is executive director of health affairs at the National Guard, has so far conducted seven successful operations to separate Siamese twins. He said he suffered enormous pressure before the last operation on Saturday.
