The medical team from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme began the separation operation on Thursday for the two-year-old Tanzanian conjoined twins, Laitience and Loveness, at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh.
The surgery was carried out under the direction of 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, through the Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh.
Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and Head of the Medical and Surgical Team of the programme, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, explained in a press statement that the Tanzanian twins arrived in the Kingdom on January 27, 2026.
Following their admission to King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital, the medical team conducted thorough and comprehensive examinations and held several specialised medical meetings to evaluate their condition and determine the appropriate separation plan.
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He stated that the twins are joined at the pelvis and hips, share four lower limbs, the lower part of the intestines, the spinal column, lumbar vertebrae, and spinal cord.
They also underwent a skin expansion procedure that took several months to prepare them for the separation surgery.
Dr Al Rabeeah noted that the operation is scheduled to take place across nine stages lasting approximately 15 hours.
The surgery will see 44 consultants, specialists, nursing, and technical staff in the specialties of anaesthesia, paediatric surgery, paediatric neurosurgery, urology, and plastic surgery, participating in the surgery.
The success rate of the medical procedure is estimated at 70 per cent.
He pointed out that this procedure marks the fourth separation operation for conjoined twins from Tanzania and the 75th operation within the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme, which since 1990 has cared for 160 twins from 29 countries across five continents.
Dr Al Rabeeah, on behalf of his colleagues on the medical and surgical team of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme, expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for their continuous support of the programme.
He emphasised that this support has enabled the Saudi medical team to provide the highest standard of medical care and improve the quality of life for the beneficiary children, praying to the Almighty God for the operation’s success and for the twins to be granted health and well-being.
NAN
