RIYADH: Ahead of the International Conference on Conjoined Twins held in Riyadh, Saudi aid agency KSrelief Supervisor-General Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah hosted a media roundtable on Saturday to discuss the goals and expectations of the two-day conference that concludes on Nov. 25.
Recalling the inspiration behind the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, Al-Rabeeah explained that in 1990, amid the Second Gulf War, a set of Sudanese conjoined twins, Samah and Heba, were seeking financial support from King Fahd to get treatment abroad.
King Fahd brought the issue to Al-Rabeeah鈥檚 team at the time at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, and after months of tests and deliberations, they completed the first successful conjoined twins separation surgery in the Kingdom.
The operation took 18 and a half hours.
鈥淲e started to invest in the nationalization of the medical team until 鈥 all specialties were from 海角直播,鈥 Al-Rabeeah said. 鈥淭oday we have seen 143 sets over 34 years. We have separated 61 sets with 100 percent success 鈥 and we have 7 sets waiting to be separated.鈥
King Abdullah Specialized Children鈥檚 Hospital now has the only known conjoined twins operating room.
King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved this program under KSrelief to support low-income families and families from conflict zones.
鈥淗umanity has no politics, no boundaries, no religion, and no color,鈥 said Al-Rabeeah.
The conference will cover a range of topics, including the candidacy process, antenatal and post-natal care, cardiac conditions, ethical considerations, reconstruction, and 3D imaging.
Al-Rabeeah also said the conference is set to discuss and sign several UN agreements related to children, including on conjoined twins, polio vaccination in Afghanistan, artificial limbs, infectious diseases in children, and the children of Gaza.
He also spoke about the importance of combining medical knowledge in the Gulf and working together to create specialized centers across the region for different matters, to make operations more cost-effective and advanced.
鈥淪cience is not owned, it is for everybody,鈥 the Saudi aid agency chief said.
On the technological developments that are optimizing this procedure, Al-Rabeeah mentioned the use of argon lasers, ultrasonic knives, new electric coatings to avoid bleeding, less sensitive prosthetics, and, most importantly, early diagnosis.
Al-Rabeeah said that the greatest research in this program has been done on early detection of conjoined twins in the womb. They are now capable of detecting conjoined twins sometimes at just eight to 10 weeks.
Al-Rabeeah鈥檚 most crucial piece of advice is urging women to start prenatal care early.
The importance of psychological care for both the patients and the families was also discussed. Al-Rabeeah pointed out what is referred to as 鈥渟eparation trauma鈥 that twins endure when learning how to adjust to their bodies after having been connected all their lives.
鈥淭he twins, they have pain, they have suffered. I have seen two kinds of tears in my life. We all know about the tears of despair, the tears of pain. But with conjoined twins, I have seen clearly the tears of happiness and joy.
鈥淲hen I come out of the operating room, going in with one bed, and coming out with two beds 鈥 this is the best moment in my life.鈥
