Saudi medical team successfully separates conjoined Syrian twins

A Saudi medical team successfully separated conjoined twins during an arduous operation on Thursday.

Syrian brothers Bassam and Ihsan were separated at the King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh and were said to be in stable condition after the seven-hour surgery, led by former Saudi health minister Dr Abdullah Al-Rabiah.

The twins and their parents arrived in Saudi Arabia from Turkey on 22 May.

"The five-stage operation involved a 26-member team comprising consultants, specialists and technical, nursing and support staff," The National publication reported.

The twins are two years and seven months old. They were joined at the lower chest and shared an abdomen, liver and intestines.

في مملكة الإنسانية و بقيادة فريق طبي من أمهر الأطباء السعوديين🇸🇦
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بحمدالله نجاح عملية فصل التوأم السيامي السوري إحسان و بسام في مستشفى الملك عبدالله التخصصي للأطفال بـ ⁧#الرياض⁩. pic.twitter.com/8PRJi4rC40

— الردع السعودي ١٧٢٧م 🇸🇦 (@s_hm2030) July 6, 2023

Translation: In the kingdom and led by a medical team of the most skilled Saudi doctors. Praise be to God, the successful separation of the Syrian siamese twins, Ihsan and Bassam, at King Abdullah Specialist Hospital for Children in Riyadh.

Ihsan does not have kidneys, a urethra, a bladder and reproductive organs. He is not expected to live for more than a few days because of his significant shortage of his organs, Al-Arabiya reported.

Dr Al-Rabiah said that the operation had to be done to save Bassam’s life.

"The existence of conjoined organs that are important and sensitive makes a twin separation operation difficult," Dr Al-Rabiah was quoted as saying by The National.

"The existence of congenital defects in some organs such as the heart, urinary system or the reproductive system and, at times, in the brain, makes the operation complex," he added.

After the successful operation, the twins were transferred to a children’s intensive care ward where they will remain under supervision.