4-yr-old girls joined at the head successfully separated in 10-hour operation [Graphic Content]

zainab quadri

February 16, 2016 4:10 PM

4-year old conjoined twins joined at the head have been successfully separated in 10-hour operation involving 22 doctors and nurses.

4-yr-old girls joined at the head successfully separated in 10-hour operation

Tuqa and Yakeen Al Khadar, who were conjoined since birth was carried out at the Specialist Children's Hospital in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

According to a hospital spokesman, who told Daily Mail that: 'The hospital has performed preparatory surgeries since April 2014 on the twins', adding that there was a remarkable progress in all the efforts.

Dr Ahmad Al-Furrayan, who was in charge of the operation, said it took 10 hours instead of the 12 hours that had been planned and was carried out in stages.

He said: 'The twins were conjoined at the head and that meant this was one of the most complicated and difficult Siamese cases.'

The girls' plight first came to light in 2013 when their father appealed for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to help with treatment.

The sisters had been conjoined since their birth four years ago, sharing a skull but not a brain.

This means they were craniopagus twins, a phenomenon occurring only once in every 2.5 million births.

Saudi Arabia has performed 37 surgeries on Siamese twins since 1990 with cases coming from 18 different countries including Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Morocco and Iraq.

Almost 30 other cases were examined, but doctors decided it was impossible to separate.

The costs are being borne by the Saudi government as a humanitarian gesture.

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