Little Tuqa and Yakeen Al Khadar were literally inseparable
since their birth four years ago in war-torn Syria. The girls were
conjoined at their skull but have two independent brains, that
allowed doctors to perform a life-changing operation.Syrian sisters Tuqa and Yakeen had been conjoined since
birth, sharing a skull but not a brain
The babies’ story came to light three years ago after their
father Hussein Al Khadr appealed for King Abdullah of Saudi
Arabia to help with expensive treatment. And the Saudi
government responded to the request, sponsoring the girls’
separation surgery as a humanitarian gesture.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
They were transported to the Specialist Children’s Hospital in
the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, where undergone prepatory
surgeries before the final one this weekend. It took 10 hours
and 22 highly-professional doctors and nurses to separate the
four-year-olds.The girls’ plight first came to light in 2013 when their father
appealed for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to help with
treatment.
Dr Ahmad Al-Furrayan, head of the medical team, said: “The
twins were conjoined at the head and that meant this was one
of the most complicated and difficult Siamese cases.” He
belives the results of the operation would be successful and
the girls would be able to start their own lives.This weekend, they were separated at the Specialist Children’s
Hospital in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh
Twins conjoined at the skull or otherwise sraniopagus are
extremely rare phenomenon thar occurs only once in every 2,5
million births. Approximately 40% of such twins are stillborn
and an additional 33% die within the immediate perinatal
period, usually from organ abnormalities and failure.