A mother's dream comes true as Filipino twins are separated

RIYADH: For the first time in their young lives, Filipino twins Olivia and Gianna Manuel are one step closer to experiencing the world on their own.

The two-year-old sisters, who were born joined at the chest and abdomen, were successfully separated on Thursday in a complex operation carried out by Saudi Arabia's Conjoined Twins Programme in Riyadh.

For their mother, Ginalyn Manuel, the surgery represented the fulfilment of a long-held hope: That her daughters would one day be able to run, play and live independently.

"Once they're finally separated, they'll be able to move around freely. They'll be able to run and live a normal life," she said before the operation.

That dream moved closer to reality when a team of 22 consultants, specialists, nurses and technicians completed the critical separation stage of the surgery at King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital, part of King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the operation was successfully completed six hours after it began.

The twins, from Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, were born in April 2024 with a rare condition known as omphalopagus, in which twins are joined at the chest and abdomen.

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, adviser to the Royal Court, supervisor-general of KSrelief and head of the surgical team, said the sisters shared a liver and possibly part of their intestines. One of the twins also suffered from congenital heart defects that posed a significant health risk, making the procedure particularly challenging, SPA reported.

The girls travelled to Saudi Arabia earlier this year after being accepted into the Kingdom's internationally recognised Conjoined Twins Programme, giving them a chance at a future that once seemed uncertain.

For the Manuel family, the operation marked more than a medical achievement. It was the beginning of a new chapter after two years in which the sisters spent every moment physically connected.

Another milestone

Following the separation, the twins will remain under medical supervision in Riyadh as they recover. Gianna is expected to undergo an additional heart procedure before the family eventually returns to the Philippines.

The operation was conducted under the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and marks another milestone for a programme that has become one of the world's leading centres for treating conjoined twins.

According to SPA, Thursday's surgery was the fourth separation of Filipino conjoined twins and the 72nd separation procedure carried out by the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme during its 35-year history. The programme has evaluated 158 cases from 28 countries across five continents.

The twins' family thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the treatment and expressed gratitude to the medical team for its efforts in ensuring the success of the operation.

For now, the greatest victory is simple: after spending the first two years of their lives joined together, Olivia and Gianna have been given the opportunity to take their first independent steps toward a normal childhood.