RIYADH, 26 April 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah has instructed National Guard Health Affairs to carry out surgery to separate two sets of conjoined twins born in the Kingdom this month. One pair is Saudi, the other is Egyptian.
They will undergo the preliminary tests at King Abdul Aziz Medical City for National Guard under the direct supervision of its chief executive officer Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. Prince Abdullah will personally bear the costs of the surgery.
According to Dr. Rabeeah, the Egyptian twins were born at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh, while the Saudi twins were born in Ahsa in the Eastern Province and are currently under medical care at a hospital in Jubail.
“The Saudi twins will be taken to the medical city for preliminary tests on instructions from Crown Prince Abdullah,” Dr. Rabeeah added.
The Saudi twins are joined at the abdomen, pelvis, buttocks and spine. They have two heads but a shared heart, lungs and liver, while the Egyptian twins were joined at the abdomen only.
A total of nine procedures for the separation of conjoined twins have been performed in the Kingdom since 1990. Three pairs were from the Kingdom, two from Sudan and one each from Malaysia, Egypt, the Philippines and Poland.
The team led by Dr. Rabeeah will perform the operations on both sets of twins. Dr. Rabeeah said this was another noble gesture of the crown prince for the benefit of humanity irrespective of caste, creed or country. He said his team will commence pre-surgical tests on the Egyptian twins shortly and shall wait for the arrival of the Saudi twins from Jubail.
