Region | Iraq
Iraqi conjoined twins separated in Saudi
A pair of Iraq conjoined twins completed separation surgery in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Chief surgeon, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah said that the most critical immediate concern is the risk of infection.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 December 3, 2006
Riyadh: A pair of Iraq conjoined twins completed separation surgery in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Chief surgeon, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah told CNN reporters, "They are stable and they are responding very well to the surgery. We have to watch them day by day, but we are optimistic."
The most critical immediate concern is the risk of infection, he said.
"Each of them will require an artificial leg. ... And after that, their expectation is going to be good. They will have a handicap, but they will overcome that handicap with careful rehabilitation and a physiotherapy program," Rabeeah said.
Twins, Fatma and Zahra Haidar, from the mainly Shiite neighbourhood of Baghdad, Sadr City, were separated at the chest, abdomen, pelvis, bowel, bladder, urethra and genitals.
When asked about the political significance of a Saudi team of Sunni Muslims coming to the aid of the 11-month-old Shiite twins, Rabeeah said, "I think that the message is clear that we are all human beings and we have to help each other, and we are strong believers that there are no boundaries to health."
"We hope that this operation will give a message to our comrades in Iraq to stop the violence and also end the difficulties that the people of Iraq are encountering," he said.
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