Surgeons prepare to separate conjoined Libyan twins

A 35-man team of surgeons will conduct the complex operation in Saudi Arabia today

Ahmed and Mohammed before the operation on Thursday. Courtesy King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action
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Conjoined Libyan twins will undergo a separation operation today at King Abdullah Specialist Hospital for Children in Saudi Arabia.

A team of 35 specialists are due to perform the complex surgery at the hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh.

The twins, Ahmed and Mohammed, were born in Tripoli in June. They are attached at the lower abdomen and pelvis, each with one lower limb, and they share a third deformed lower limb.

They also share a large intestine, anus and pelvic bones.

The surgery is expected to last 15 hours and will be completed in 11 phases, but doctors are confident of success.

Head surgeon, Dr Abdullah Alrabiah said there is a 70 per cent chance the twins will be separated safely and recover to live relatively normal lives.

"This case is rare and complex and will need the vast experience of the Saudi medical team,” he said.

“Our team has explained the case, the rate of success and expected risks to the father of the twins.”

This decision to operate came after a meeting between members of the medical and surgical team led by the advisor at the Royal Court, general supervisor of the King Salman Centre for Relief and Humanitarian Action and the head of the medical and surgical team in the separation of conjoined twins Dr Alrabiah.

So far in Saudi Arabia, 48 similar procedures have been successfully completed under the Kingdom’s Siamese Twins Separation Programme.