Conjoined Nigerian twins separated in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian surgeons have successfully separated Hassanah and Hussaina, the conjoined Nigerian twins.

The surgery, which began on Thursday, lasted for 14 hours at the King Abdullah Specialist Hospital for Children.

The twins, who were born in January 2022 at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, were conjoined at the abdomen, pelvis, liver, intestines, urinary as well as reproductive systems and pelvic bones areas.

The procedure involved eight different phases and a team of 35 doctors, medical experts and nurses.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabeeah, supervisor-general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, and leader of the surgical team, said following the separation, the reconstruction process has begun.

“We still have a couple of hours left for the reconstruction process, but thanks God the decisive phase has passed,” he said.

The twins after their birth, were moved to the National Hospital in Abuja, where they stayed for about eight months without undergoing surgery due to lack of funds.

The government of Saudi Arabia, however, offered free surgery to the family.