Iraqi conjoined twins Zainab and Ruqayah were successfully separated by a multi-disciplinary medical team headed by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah after a nine-hour-long surgery at the King Abdulaziz Medical City here Friday. Addressing a press conference after the the surgery Dr. Al-Rabeah congratulated the Monarch, his Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Premier on the success of the operation. Al-Rabeah announced that a specialist pediatrics hospital will be established at King Abdulaziz Medical City to be named after King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for treating the Siamese cases. The nine-phase surgery started at 8 A.M. with the administration of anesthesia and ended at 5 P.M. with the reconstruction and closing of the wounds. The two-week-old twins were joined at the hip and had problems with their digestive and reproductive systems. Upon the directive of King Abdullah, the Iraqi twins along with their father and family members were brought from Najaf to Riyadh on June 25. Ruqayah's condition was a cause of concern for the medical team. She had a major anomaly in her head, referred to as encephalocele which means an extrusion of a large cyst filled with brain fluid and the brain stem and cerebellum. This anomaly had created major difficulties to the twin causing respiratory arrest and bradicardia (slowing of the heartbeat). Naseer Muhammad Mohsen, father of Iraqi Siamese twins, thanked King Abdullah for his quick response to the letter he wrote explaining the status of his two daughters, urging him to save their lives. He added that after only three days he received a telephone call from Dr. Al-Rabeah, informing him that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has approved and directed to examine the possibility of making an operation to separate the Siamese twins. Dr. Al-Rabeah has performed nearly 30 successful surgeries for conjoined twins from 16 countries. Those included another set of Iraqi conjoined twins who were separated after 20 hours of surgery in 2006.
RIYADH – Iraqi conjoined twins Zainab and Ruqayah were successfully separated by a multi-disciplinary medical team headed by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah after a nine-hour-long surgery at the King Abdulaziz Medical City here Friday.Addressing a press conference after the the surgery Dr. Al-Rabeah congratulated the Monarch, his Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Premier on the success of the operation.Al-Rabeah announced that a specialist pediatrics hospital will be established at King Abdulaziz Medical City to be named after King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for treating the Siamese cases.The nine-phase surgery started at 8 A.M. with the administration of anesthesia and ended at 5 P.M. with the reconstruction and closing of the wounds. The two-week-old twins were joined at the hip and had problems with their digestive and reproductive systems.Upon the directive of King Abdullah, the Iraqi twins along with their father and family members were brought from Najaf to Riyadh on June 25.Ruqayah's condition was a cause of concern for the medical team. She had a major anomaly in her head, referred to as encephalocele which means an extrusion of a large cyst filled with brain fluid and the brain stem and cerebellum. This anomaly had created major difficulties to the twin causing respiratory arrest and bradicardia (slowing of the heartbeat).Naseer Muhammad Mohsen, father of Iraqi Siamese twins, thanked King Abdullah for his quick response to the letter he wrote explaining the status of his two daughters, urging him to save their lives.He added that after only three days he received a telephone call from Dr. Al-Rabeah, informing him that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has approved and directed to examine the possibility of making an operation to separate the Siamese twins. Dr. Al-Rabeah has performed nearly 30 successful surgeries for conjoined twins from 16 countries. Those included another set of Iraqi conjoined twins who were separated after 20 hours of surgery in 2006. __
