RIYADH: Burkinabe conjoined twins Khadijah and Hawaa arrived in the Saudi capital for a possible separation surgery at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital.
Accompanied by their mother, the girls were airlifted from Burkina Faso to the Kingdom by the defense ministry’s medevac, following the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, head of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, extended his thanks to the Saudi leadership for the gesture that embodies the Kingdom’s great medical capabilities and humanitarian sense towards needy groups around the world.
The twins’ mother thanked the Saudi government and people for the warm welcome and hospitality, expressing her confidence in the experienced Saudi medical team.
The Kingdom is a world leader in one of the most complex surgical procedures in modern medicine. Since its launch in 1990, Saudi Arabia’s Conjoined Twins Program has treated about 139 cases of conjoined twins from countries around the world. Al-Rabeeah, who heads the medical team, has conducted 61 operations on conjoined twins born to poor families from 26 countries.
King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital plays a crucial role in the program. Equipped with state-of-the- art medical facilities and advanced technology, the hospital is staffed by a highly skilled medical team specializing in complex pediatric care.
Operations carried out under the program are fully sponsored by the Saudi government.
According to medical studies, about 60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn, while some 40 percent of those who survive birth then die within a few days. About 70 percent of conjoined twins are girls.
