Saudi surgeon meets conjoined twins he separated 13 years ago

Surgeons at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh separated the children when they were nine months old

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah on Wednesday with the Egyptian Siamese twins Hassan and Mahmoud, 13 years after they were separated during an operation in the Saudi capital. Photo: SPA

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, adviser at the Royal Court and supervisor general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, on Wednesday met the Egyptian conjoined twins Hassan and Mahmoud, 13 years after they were separated during an operation in the capital.

Surgeons at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh separated the twins when the boys were nine months old.

The twins were joined at the bowel, urinary tract, reproductive organs, and pelvis when they underwent the surgery at King Abdulaziz Medical City in 2009, Saudi Press Agency reported. The Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme began in 1990.

Dr Al Rabeeah said that Saudi Arabia will "continue to help" those in need around the world and that such operations are an extension of the country's humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of people wherever they are, under the directives of King Salman and the Crown Prince, SPA reported.

The twins' parents, who met Dr Rabeeah in Riyadh, expressed gratitude for the kingdom's efforts in providing a specialised and efficient medical team that helped to save their boys.