Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: In a humanitarian initiative directed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, a complex surgical operation to separate Syrian conjoined twins commenced today at the King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital (KASCH) in Riyadh.
The procedure is being led by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and head of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme. The twins, Celine and Eleen Abdulmoneim Alshibli, are Syrian nationals born as part of a triplet birth to a refugee family residing in Lebanon. The two conjoined girls and a healthy, non-conjoined boy were delivered via cesarean section in Beirut on February 28, 2024.
Now aged one year and five months with a combined weight of 14 kilograms, the twins were brought to the Kingdom on December 29, 2024, through coordinated efforts of Saudi Arabia’s foreign and defense ministries. Upon arrival, the twins were admitted to KASCH, where comprehensive medical evaluations confirmed that they were conjoined at the lower chest and abdomen. They share a pericardium and liver, with a possible connection of the intestines.
Dr. Al Rabeeah stated that the surgery will span approximately nine hours and be executed in six stages. The operation involves a multidisciplinary team of 24 consultants and specialists from various fields including anesthesia, pediatric surgery, and plastic surgery, supported by expert nursing and technical staff.
This marks the fourth separation surgery performed by the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme for Syrian nationals. Over the past 35 years, the programme has evaluated 150 conjoined twin cases and successfully separated 65 twins from 27 countries, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s ongoing commitment to humanitarian medical care.
