Syrian conjoined twin’s condition stable a week after separation surgery

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The health condition of Syrian conjoined twin Bassam is stable one week after the separation surgery that he underwent last Thursday.

This was confirmed on Thursday by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, advisor at the Royal Court and general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), who led the operation at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital under King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guard in Riyadh. The operation was carried out in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah said all medical indicators for the twin Bassam are reassuring and artificial respiratory devices have been removed from him after he woke up from anesthesia. Bassam has also started to interact with his parents, and his mother will breastfeed him in a normal way.

The medical team is expected to shift Bassam from the pediatric intensive care unit to the pediatric ward on Thursday to start his rehabilitation process.

The other twin, Ihsan, died on Wednesday as expected. He had major congenital heart defects that cannot be corrected, in addition to the absence of urinary and reproductive systems such as kidneys, ureter, bladder, and male genitalia. He also had insufficiency and congenital defects in the intestines.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah confirmed that all the conditions that Ihsan suffered from were explained to his parents before the start of the separation surgery.

This was the 58th surgery within the Saudi Program for the Separation of Conjoined Twins. The program screened 130 cases from 23 countries since 1990.