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MANILA: Doctors from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program have given Akhizah and Ayeesha Yusoph a new lease of life. The girls have thrived since their recent surgery in Riyadh and play just like any other children, says their mother.

The twins, born in December 2022 in Panabo city, Davao Del Norte province, on the southern island of Mindanao, were joined at the lower chest and abdomen and shared one liver.

When their 19-year-old mother started to look for help, a local charity connected her with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. The center is headed by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, one of the world’s most renowned pediatric surgeons who also leads the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.

After a series of tests and medical arrangements, the girls flew to Riyadh in May and, in June, underwent separation surgery at the at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital

The five-hour procedure was performed by Dr. Rabeeah and his team of 20 medics. It was sponsored by the Saudi government.

“When I learned that the operation was a success, I only felt one thing: I was filled with joy because my children’s suffering was finally over,” Hashima Yusoph, the girls’ mother, told Arab News.

She returned to the Philippines with the girls earlier this month and is now witnessing her children learning to walk and play with others.

“Before, they couldn’t walk. They were always just sitting or lying down. But now they can play. They can now keep up with the other children playing outside,” Yusoph said.

“They are happier now. They are always laughing, not like when they used to always cry because they were in pain. It was really hard before.”

Yusoph was accompanied to Riyadh by her mother. Their stay in the Kingdom coincided with the Hajj season and being Muslim, they could perform the pilgrimage that is one of the five pillars of Islam.

“We are very grateful to ����ֱ�� for giving us that opportunity, to do Hajj, to go to Makkah,” Yusoph said.

“I prayed for my twins that they will always be healthy. I also thanked Allah for the bountiful blessings that we received, especially for giving my daughters the gift of independent movement and a chance to live normally.”

Her life, too, has changed and she could now focus on finding work to help sustain the family.

“The twins’ surgery has made a huge difference in our lives. Now, I can also move freely unlike before — I had to carry them every day because of their condition. Their separation was really a great help in our lives,” she said.

“I want to thank King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ... They changed the lives of my daughters, our lives.”

Conjoined twins are a rare phenomenon, estimated to occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births.

����ֱ�� is known as a pioneer in the field of separation surgery and, since the establishment of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program in 1990, has separated more than 130 children who were born sharing internal organs with their siblings.

In March 2004, another set of Filipino conjoined twins, Ann and Mae Manzo, underwent separation surgery in Riyadh. Joined at the abdomen, the pelvis and the perineum, they were successfully operated on by Dr. Al-Rabeeah and his team.