Operation to separate Yemeni child from parasitic twin in Saudi Arabia declared a success

 RIYADH: A Saudi medical team successfully separated a Yemeni child from her parasitic twin on Thursday at the King Abdullah Specialty Children’s Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

The surgical procedure took seven hours and 35 minutes, Al-Ekhbariya news channel reported.

A team of 25 professionals, including doctors and specialists and other technicians and nurses, took part in the procedure.

 Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the general supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSrelief) and leader of the team, said on Thursday morning that the procedure had a success rate of more than 80 percent.

 This is the 50th twins separation procedure performed in the Kingdom since the establishment of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program in 1990.

“There are challenges indeed,” Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said, “There is also a need for a plastic surgery intervention to cover the raw area, however, the experience of the medical team over three decades will overcome these challenges.”

He explained that Aisha is a parasitic twin, a specific type of conjoined twins; she is fully developed and has an extended pelvis area and an extra pair of lower extremities.

 “I hope that Aisha remains strong and God provides her with strength and health,” Aisha’s mother Fatimah Aqeel told Arab News, “We thank King Salman, the crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Dr. Al-Rabeeah and his team for their efforts.”

 “We have no fears, Dr. Al-Rabeeah reassured us that it is not a life-threatening procedure,” her father Ahmad Mohimoud said, “We were happy to arrive in the Kingdom, and we are optimistic about this surgery, and our happiness will be fulfilled once Aisha leaves the operation room safely.”

 Aisha’s parents are following the procedure through a live stream from the operation room.

Al-Rabeeah said that each case is unique and is examined separately.

“After the operation, Aisha’s situation will be monitored for a few days; then we will start the rehabilitation process; we expect it will take eight to 10 weeks,” he said.