المملكة: ريادة عالمية.. “اليوم” ترصد بالأرقام إنجازات المملكة في فصل التوائم السيامية

In line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to develop the health and humanitarian sector in the Kingdom and raise its quality and level of efficiency, which contributed to achieving a social and economic transformation that the world sees and is affected by, and laid the foundations for success and promoting a sustainable future full of educational opportunities by empowering the sons and daughters of the nation and developing their capabilities. To be future leaders, the International Conference on Conjoined Twins comes.
It is organized by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center on November 24 and 25, under the generous patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Saudi Program for Conjoined Twins, with the participation of the Ministries of the National Guard, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Health, and Education. And the media.
As well as a number of interested parties working in the medical and humanitarian field, including international humanitarian organizations and bodies, associations and institutions, specialists and researchers from various countries of the world, and the presence of a number of twins accompanied by their relatives from several countries who had previously undergone separation operations..

Review success stories

This conference aims to bring together international medical experts, representatives from humanitarian organizations, and others interested in the topic of conjoined twins to highlight success stories and challenges related to separating conjoined twins..
The conference will also celebrate the wonderful achievements of the Saudi Program for Conjoined Twins from its inception in 1990 until today, which was dedicated to separating and caring for conjoined twins from all over the world in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and enjoys full support and care from the Kingdom’s government..

Saudi program for conjoined twins

On this occasion, Al-Youm highlights the work and achievements of the Saudi Center for Conjoined Twins, as the progress and transformation that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing at the level of the health sector, especially in the Saudi Program for Conjoined Twins, was not the result of a coincidence, but rather the result of concerted efforts between the public health sectors. Private and non-profit organizations, in successfully addressing problems through unlimited support, harnessing technology, and facilitating access to health services, so that the Kingdom becomes a successful global model to be emulated..
This transformation reflects the Kingdom’s long-term commitment to supporting conjoined twins, through the Saudi National Program for Conjoined Twins, which was established in 1990, and has become a global leader in this field, and has achieved historical success, after being able to perform successful separation operations and provide comprehensive medical care, surgical expertise, and ongoing support services. For conjoined twins and their families.
The experience of separating twins also reflects the distinctive institutional experience and the rational approach adopted by the Kingdom’s leadership and government in investing in the human resources of the sons and daughters of the nation, through scholarship programs for the most prestigious universities in the world, which returned national cards that are now able to compete with the world in the areas of organ and liver transplantation, and that this model Separating twins is one such wonderful model.
The constant communication before and after operations from the wise leadership represents a strong push towards achievement, to ensure the success of the operations, throughout the course of the program extending for more than three decades, which translates the sublime humanity of the Kingdom, which has become a global reference in medicine and refuge for many cases..
This made the Kingdom achieve global leadership and international praise from relevant countries and organizations. It ranks fourth and is considered the most famous in the world in the field of centers for separating conjoined twins, alongside specialized medical centers in America in the states of: Philadelphia and Boston, and in the Great Arment Hospital in Britain, and superior to Toronto Hospital in Canada..

What are conjoined twins?

Conjoined twins, also known as Siamese twins, are identical twins whose bodies were joined in the womb. It is a rare condition, occurring at a rate of one in every 500,000 live births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southeast Asia, Africa and Brazil..
About half of twins are born stillborn, and another third of them die within 24 hours of birth as they are born with deformities that make it difficult to live..

Selection of cases

The selection of the Saudi program for cases and dealing with them was not subject to the criteria of religion, geography, or race. This is the idea of ​​the human kingdom. Rather, the choice is based on the need of the person wherever he is. There may be difficult economic conditions or wars and suffering during pregnancy and the birth of Siamese twins, followed by the suffering of research. About the place of treatment.
The case of the Libyan Siamese twins, Ahmed and Mohammed, was dealt with by receiving an email through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, and it was sent to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, who met him with a direct and rapid response..
The case of the Cameroonian twins was also received, and the call for help from his family was responded to. This humanitarian response had the effect of converting all the residents of the village to Islam without a direct invitation to enter the Islamic religion, after they were certain that this good treatment left behind a great religion on which the Kingdom was established, and in light of it a map was drawn in the humanitarian field. To the world and has become a role model for other nations

Science and ethics are the deciding factor

What governs the separation of Siamese twins is purely scientific standards, so the separation decides whether the surgery will allow the twins to survive.
Considering the total of 139 cases evaluated and the 61 cases that were adjudicated, we find that most of the cases that were not adjudicated shared life-threatening organs and most of them did not live long after birth..

Sacrificing one twin at the expense of another

According to the confirmation of Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiah, the godfather of the experience of separating Siamese twins, it is neither legally nor morally permissible to sacrifice one twin at the expense of the other except in one case, which is that one of them is a parasite, meaning that he lives as a parasite on the other, as he is a body that lives on a heart. His brother and he derives everything from him, so without his brother he is a pile of meat. But if it is complete, then it is neither legal nor morally possible to sacrifice one of them at the expense of the other.
He continued: Now medicine has developed and diagnosis has advanced greatly, and the medical team is now able to diagnose cases of Siamese twins in their eighth, ninth, or tenth week.
In many countries, they allow or legalize abortion for this reason, but if it is discovered late (week 12 or 13), in many countries abortion is not permitted because the twins have a clear soul and body..

Medical team

The medical team includes more than (60) people from various specialties that deal with cases before, during, and after surgical and cosmetic surgeries, while the surgical team that performs the surgery includes 35 people, including consultants, specialists, and resident doctors, in the fields of anesthesia, endoscopy, sterilization, pediatric surgery, and plastic surgery..

Sustainability of operations

The Kingdom is proud that it now has a Saudi team from the first, second and third grades that is systematically trained in twin separation operations, and includes all relevant medical, surgical, technical and assistance specialties.
This provides reassurance about the capabilities of national cadres and their excellence in their field of specialization, whether at the level of pediatric surgery, urogenital tract, anesthesia, plastic surgery, or endoscopy. It ensures the continuation and survival of the Saudi program for separating conjoined twins, and that its continuity is not linked to one person, represented by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah.

The first separation process

In 1957, Bertram Katz and his surgical team recorded the first successful separation of conjoined twins who shared a vital organ in the history of international medicine.
Twins John and James Freeman (Johnny and Jimmy) were born with shared navels, in Youngstown, Ohio, on April 27, 1957. The twins shared a liver and each had a separate heart. The separation operation was carried out successfully at Northside Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio..
At the national level, the first process of separating twins dates back to the morning of Thursday, December 31, 1990 AD, and the attachment of the Saudi Siamese twins was to the skin and a small part of the liver.
According to Al-Rabiah, this operation marked a real start to the process of separating twins, and is the basic building block for achievement and giving. The operation was successful, and the two girls who were separated are now in good health, and have reached the age of 34 years..

Beneficiary nationalities

The cases that were evaluated or operated on in the Kingdom included 26 nationalities from 3 continents around the world (Asia – Europe – Africa), most notably: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, Cameroon, Morocco, and Syria..

2023 The highest…and January the most

The year 2023 is the year with the highest number of twin separation surgeries, with (6) operations performed during the first seven months, followed by 2016 with (5) operations, then 2007 and 2016 with (4) operations.
While (3) surgeries were performed in each of the years 2010, 2014, 2015, and 2018, while two separation surgeries were performed in 7 years: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2022.
January is also the most prominent month in terms of the number of cases with (8) cases, followed by the months of February and October with (7) cases each, then July (6) cases, the months of April and June (5) cases each, and May (4) cases. And (3) cases in each of March and December, and two cases in each of September and November, while August is the lowest with one separate case..

Abdominal involvement…the most prominent

Regarding the common organs of Siamese twins, the abdominal area, the pelvic area and the abdomen are the most prominent and common areas among the operations performed in the Kingdom, with (9) cases for each, followed by the chest and abdomen area with (7) cases, then the chest, abdomen and pelvis area combined with (5). ) cases, then the head area (3) cases

The Kingdom outperforms Malaysia and Britain

Dr. Al-Rabiah points out in his book (My Experience with Siamese Twins), which was published in 2009 – and the introduction to which was written by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God have mercy on him – that the success in surgery on the Malaysian twins Ahmed and Muhammad was a qualitative turning point in twin surgeries in the Kingdom. This is the first case from outside the Arab world that has achieved an Islamic and Asian dimension.
He explained that accepting the case put the medical team in front of a real challenge, as one of the large British hospitals with a long history in this field announced its refusal to perform the operation due to its difficulty, as the success rate was up to 65%, but the medical team overcame many of the difficulties it faced. Before and during the surgery that was performed on September 17, 2002, he succeeded in what Malaysia and Britain were unable to do. Thus, this operation represented a major shift, as it achieved in the land of the Two Holy Mosques what had not been achieved in Malaysia and Britain..

World Conjoined Twins Day

Among the gains achieved thanks to these unique and continuous Saudi successes is that the United Nations General Assembly announced the adoption of a resolution stipulating that November 24 of each year be designated as World Day for Conjoined Twins.
It came at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the nucleus group of the project (the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Morocco, the State of Qatar, and the Republic of Yemen); With the aim of raising awareness about these humanitarian cases and celebrating achievements in the field of operations to separate conjoined twins.

The secret of success

In addition to the generous and unlimited support and generous care from the wise leadership – may God bless them – and the state’s encouragement, the reason for the success of the surgery to separate Siamese twins is due to its centralization in one center in which all health sectors merge.
The presence of one hospital in the Kingdom that performs twin separation operations gives it a global medical status, making it unique in the world. This success is also due to the spirit of one team, teamwork and planning before making a decision, which is considered the best and most successful way to reach positive results..

International medical standing

The Kingdom did not assume this prestigious international medical position in operations to separate Siamese twins (conjoined) in a vacuum, but rather through serious, organized work through the availability of international Saudi medical personnel, and the launch of the Saudi program for separating Siamese twins in 1990, which is considered a unique humanitarian, medical and scientific model with great success. .
The program operates to this day and continues its unique medical humanitarian initiatives, which are an extension of the volunteer humanitarian work carried out by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.
The Kingdom also provides specialized medical personnel or recent graduates from within the Kingdom the opportunity to participate in twin separation operations, to gain medical expertise and skills and export them to the world..
Throughout this successful journey, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah continued to lead the twin separation team and supervise all separation operations, from which the medical teams gained great experience.
Modern technologies and devices were also available that helped the medical teams perform their tasks to the fullest extent, and the Kingdom covers all expenses, including family accommodation and follow-up treatment of Siamese children even after they return with their parents safely to their country for a period extending to a year and more..