DUBAI: Filipino conjoined twins Olivia and Gianna Manuel were successfully separated on Thursday as surgeons completed a major stage of a complex operation as part of Saudi Arabia’s Conjoined Twins Program.
The twins, who were born joined at the chest and abdomen, were separated during the procedure, while the medical team continued the fifth phase of the six-stage surgery, Saudi officials said.
The operation was launched under the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and involved 22 medical specialists. The surgery was expected to last about eight hours.
في لحظة غمرتها دموع الفرح ومشاعر الشكر، تبدّد الخوف الذي أثقل قلبَي والدَيهما طويلًا..
اليوم تبدأ حياة جديدة للتوأم الفلبيني جيانا وأوليفيا، وتبدأ معها رحلةٌ جديدة نحو مستقبلٍ مليء بالأمل pic.twitter.com/aIeMFQVGUb— مركز الملك سلمان للإغاثة (@KSRelief) June 18, 2026
The 2-year-old girls arrived in Riyadh earlier this year after being accepted into the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, one of the world's leading initiatives for the treatment and separation of conjoined twins.
Olivia and Gianna, from Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, were born in April 2024 with a condition known as omphalopagus, in which twins are joined at the chest and abdomen.
The surgery was led by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the head of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, whose team has separated 140 pairs of conjoined twins from 27 countries since 1990.
Ahead of the operation, the twins’ mother, Ginalyn Manuel, said the family hoped the surgery would allow the girls to enjoy a normal childhood.
She said: “Once they’re finally separated, they’ll be able to move around freely. They’ll be able to run and live a normal life.”
The twins will remain under medical care in Riyadh following the separation, with Gianna expected to undergo additional heart surgery before the family returns to the Philippines.
Olivia and Gianna are the fourth pair of Filipino conjoined twins treated under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program. Earlier Filipino patients include Ann and Mae Manzo, separated in 2004; Akhizah and Ayeesha Yusoph in 2024; and Maurice Ann and Klea Misa, who underwent separation surgery earlier this year.
