Conjoined twins separated by 32 specialists in Saudi Arabia

Dar es Salaam. Surgeons in Saudi Arabia have successfully separated conjoined twins Maryness and Anisia from Tanzania in an exercise that involved a total of 32 specialists in various medical disciplines, media reports show.

The Dubai-based but Saudi-owned pan-Arab television news channel Al Arabiya reported that the twins were successfully separated during an operation that was conducted at the King Abdullah Children’s Specialist Hospital in Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz Medical City.

The report, which was also posted on the Saudi Gazette on http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/550954, said Dr Abdullah Al-Rabeeah from Saudia Arabia led the operation.

“This humanitarian programme has served many countries in the world, and the Kingdom has, thanks to God, recorded the success of operation No. 47 in the separation programme,” Dr al-Rabeeah told the Saudi Press Agency.

Speaking to Al-Arabiya from the operation room earlier in the day, Rabeeah said both twins were in stable condition and that medical doctors on their team were optimistic that Maryness and Anisia would have a better quality of life after separation.

The operation, which took 13 hours to complete, was carried out via nine phases in which 32 specialists consisting of doctors, surgeons, technicians and nursing cadres participated.

The media secretary for the Saudi Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Mr Nasser Mohamed, told The Citizen that the operation to separate the conjoined twins, which took place on Sunday, was a success.

“The separated twins are doing well. We have information that they are doing fine,” he said, noting that he was not yet sure when the twins would be discharged.

“I am not sure about the exact day for their discharge from the hospital. What I know is that they will have to be under medical attention after the successful surgery and we remain hopeful that they will be discharged sooner than later” he said.

The news of the conjoined twins first surfaced in June, this year, during a time that the country was under grief, mourning the death of Maria and Consolata. It was the time when the country came to know that Maryness and Anisia were born on January 29, this year, in Kagera Region.

The twins’ mother, Jonesia Jovitus, 21, told The Citizen in June that her children had been admitted at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) since February. She noted, however, that there were plans to transfer them to Saudi Arabia for further treatment.

The issue of Maryness and Anisia also emerged in Parliament in June when Ms Suzan Lyimo (Special Seats-Chadema) asked the Health ministry about the authenticity of a video clip which went viral, showing images of the twins.

Responding to Ms Lyimo’s question, Health minister Ummy Mwalimu said the government had already directed that the conjoined twins be brought to MNH for treatment.

She said the Health ministry had written to the Kagera Regional Medical Officer to ensure that the twins were transferred to MNH as soon as possible.

“We have well trained doctors at MNH. They are required to examine the twins and advise on the way forward,” she said, adding that after examining the twins, the doctors would propose whether it would be possible to separate them at MNH or whether they would have to be referred to a specialised hospital abroad.

Ms Mwalimu said in June that after losing Maria and Consolata – the conjoined twins who died aged 21 – the government was determined to ensure that all conjoined twins received the highest level of healthcare wherever they were.

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