RIYADH, 12 February 2005 — The Polish community in the Kingdom has honored Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and his team for the successful operation to separate conjoined twins Daria and Olga Kolacz.
Polish Ambassador Adam Kulach hosted a special reception at his residence on Wednesday to honor Dr. Rabeeah, executive director of the King Abdul Aziz Medical City for the National Guard. The envoy presented a special memento to Dr. Rabeeah and certificates of appreciation to all the members of his medical team. The function was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, the Polish community and high-ranking government officials. US Ambassador James C. Oberwetter and British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles were also present. On behalf of the Poles, Wieslawa Dabrowska, the mother of the twins, and her accompanying Polish pediatrician, Dr. Jolanta Jezewska, presented rare paintings to Dr. Rabeeah in appreciation of his contributions to the surgery.
“It is not only an honor for me but also for the Kingdom and to Crown Prince Abdullah for initiating the separation on the request of Dabrowska,” Dr. Rabeeah told Arab News after accepting the award. He said the crown prince has been stretching his helping hand to people across the world irrespective of caste, creed and religion. He added that the twins’ improvement has been exceptional, as they can now sit and have started to stand with assistance.
“Their health is excellent, and they have been given short passes to stay with their mother in her apartment in the King Abdul Aziz Medical City housing compound,” he noted. As for the treatment, he said they are currently undergoing an extensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation program. Ambassador Kulach told Arab News that the function was organized by the Polish mission in appreciation of the marvelous surgery performed by Dr. Rabeeah and his team.
“Poles are grateful to Prince Abdullah and the medical team headed by Dr. Rabeeah for the ready medical aid given to these twins who will lead normal life in the future,” he added.
Daria and Olga, born on Oct. 8, 2003 at the Centrum Matki Polki Institute in Lodz, Poland, were joined at the abdomen, pelvis, buttocks and spine. The mother, Dabrowska, a 38-year-old seamstress from the central Polish town of Janikowo, made an appeal to Crown Prince Abdullah to save their lives by arranging the complex surgery to separate the conjoined twins in the Kingdom.
The surgery was the ninth of its kind at the hospital and was performed by a 50-member medical team headed by Dr. Rabeeah.
Since 1990, 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. The last one was early last year when doctors successfully separated eight-month-old Filipino conjoined twin girls who shared an abdomen, pelvis and lower organs.
