Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Saudi medical team specializing in conjoined twin separations began a complex operation Saturday morning to separate Syrian twins Selin and Elin Abdulmoneim Al-Shibli.

The procedure is being conducted under the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Led by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), the procedure is taking place at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh.

Dr. Al Rabeeah explained that the twins — born as part of a triplet pregnancy with one healthy sibling — were delivered by cesarean section on February 28, 2024, at Rafic Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, where their refugee family had been residing.

Selin and Elin are now one year and five months old and have a combined weight of 14 kilograms.

They arrived in Saudi Arabia on December 29, 2024, through coordination with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, and were admitted to the specialized hospital for evaluation.

Medical tests revealed the twins are conjoined at the lower chest and abdomen, sharing a pericardial membrane and liver, with a possible intestinal connection.

Following extensive assessment, the surgical team decided to perform pre-separation tissue expansion using implanted medical balloons to ensure enough skin coverage after separation.

The high-risk procedure is expected to take approximately nine hours and will be conducted in six stages, involving 24 consultants and specialists in fields including pediatric surgery, anesthesia, and plastic surgery, in addition to supporting nursing and technical teams.

This marks the fourth separation surgery for Syrian conjoined twins under the Saudi program.

Over the past 35 years, the team has reviewed 150 cases and successfully separated 65 sets of twins from 27 countries.

Dr. Al Rabeeah expressed deep gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their continued support of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program and the Kingdom’s broader healthcare initiatives.

He prayed for the success of the operation and affirmed that this humanitarian effort adds another milestone to Saudi Arabia’s global legacy of compassion and medical excellence.