Saudi surgeons separate conjoined twins Yara and Lara in 12-hour-long surgery

Surgeons from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital successfully separated 7-month-old conjoined twins during a 12-hour-long surgery on Thursday. The surgery was led by a team of 38 specialists, including consultants in pediatric surgery, anesthesia, urology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, and nursing.

Twins Yara and Lara were joined at the lower abdomen and pelvis, shared parts of the colon, rectum, urinary and reproductive systems, and pelvic bone. They had separate upper and lower limbs, according to Arab News.

In an interview given before the surgey, the surgeons had described about the challenges working in “narrow spaces” where critical organs and features overlapped. “The big challenge here is that we are working in a narrow space where many structures join. We’re talking about a joint rectum and joint parts of the urinary bladder,” Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, general supervisor of Saudi aid agency KSrelief, told Arab News.

Post surgery, the girls will be subjected to an intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy programme “so that they will be able to be active and will be able to sit and stand outdoors.”

Muaid Al-Shehri, the father of the Saudi twins, Yara and Lara, expressed his gratitude to the authorities and said the operation was a profound and emotional moment for his family. “The support has been great,” he said. “Honestly, the joy after the separation of the twins is indescribable; it’s a completely different kind of happiness.

Saudi Arabia boasts the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, where over  65th successful separations have been conducted so far. The team has evaluated 150 conjoined twin cases from 27 countries over the past 35 years.

 

 

Middle East