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RIYADH: Jamaican conjoined twins Azaria and Azura Elson were successfully separated after a five-hour operation, according to an official statement.

The specialized medical team from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program achieved the milestone by separating the twins in a complex procedure performed in Riyadh at the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, affiliated with the Ministry of National Guard.

The surgery was reduced to five hours because of the absence of shared intestines, and the surgical team expedited the procedure given Azura’s critical heart condition, it added.

In an earlier statement, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who headed the surgical team, said the children arrived in the Kingdom on July 28. Al-Rabeeah is also an adviser at the royal court and leads the Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief.

The twins shared a lower chest, abdomen and liver, and possibly also intestines and pericardium, Al-Rabeeah said.

One of the children has significant congenital defects and a weakened heart muscle, with its pumping capacity at only 20 percent. This increased the risk of the surgery.

Al-Rabeeah said he had explained the situation to the mother and she had agreed to the operation.

Al-Rabeeah said originally that he expected the operation to take about nine hours, in six stages, involving 25 staff members covering nursing, anesthesia, pediatric surgery, and plastic surgery.

Al-Rabeeah said this was the 67th operation conducted by the program, which has cared for 152 sets of twins from 28 countries over more than 35 years.

The family of the children thanked King Salman and KSrelief for the advanced medical care provided to their twins. They also praised the tremendous efforts made by the Saudi medical team to ensure the success of the operation and the safety of the twins.