RIYADH: Nigerian conjoined twins Hassana and Hussaina arrived in Saudi Arabia, where a specialized team of doctors will assess their condition and determine if an operation to separate them is feasible.
The twins touched down at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Monday night and were transported to the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital.
They arrived with their parents via a Saudi Ministry of Defense medical evacuation aircraft under the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Kingdom has a long history of providing surgeries to conjoined twins at no expense.
For more than 30 years, the skilled work of surgeons with Saudi Arabia’s Conjoined Twins Separation Program has allowed children to enjoy healthy, normal and independent lives, making the Kingdom a world leader in one of the most complex surgical procedures in modern medicine.
Earlier this month, Saudi surgical teams carried out a successful 16-hour operation to separate Tanzanian twins.
Supervisor-General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah extended his thanks to the Kingdom’s leadership for supporting the program, which he described as embodying Saudi medical excellence.
Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Yahaya Lawal told Arab News: “Twins Hassana and Hussaina arrived in Riyadh from Nigeria on board an air ambulance dispatched by the Kingdom for the complex surgical operation at the KASCH. The twins, aged 25 months, were accompanied by their parents. I along with officials from KSrelief as well as a medical team received the conjoined twins on arrival in Riyadh.”
The ambassador expressed gratitude on behalf of all Nigerians to the king, crown prince and people of Saudi Arabia for their kindness and generosity.
He also thanked KSrelief for its humanitarian assistance to Nigeria.
Last December, another set of conjoined twins from Nigeria was brought to Riyadh and, on May 18, 2023, were successfully separated, the envoy said.
The parents of the twins also thanked the king and crown prince for the warm reception, generous hospitality and medical help.
