RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s conjoined twins separation program began one of the most complex surgeries of its kind in the world on Thursday morning in an operation expected to take 24 hours.
The separation of conjoined Filipino twins Klea and Maurice Ann, joined at the head, presents a number of challenges, said the head of the program, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.
The twins first arrived in the Kingdom on May 17, 2025 for examinations, which highlighted the complicated nature of their case.
This was due to several critical medical factors, including the angle of the twins’ heads, extensive sharing of cerebral venous sinuses and overlapping brain tissue.
Klea was also found to be suffering from heart failure and kidney failure, further increasing the risk of surgery.
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s surgical team is led by Dr. Moutasem Azzubi, consultant pediatric neurosurgeon.
The team decided to carry out the operation in five stages, during which 30 consultants and specialists, as well as nursing and technical staff, are taking part.
These stages include anesthesia, intensive care, advanced radiology and plastic surgery.
“Based on the multidisciplinary medical evaluation and accurate diagnostic studies, the risk rate is up to 50 percent due to the medical challenges associated with the case, with the possibility of severe neurological complications that may cause disability by up to 60 percent,” Al-Rabeeah said.
The team also consulted with another specialist medical center that held consistent views on the case, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
In addition, the case was explained in detail to the twins’ parents, who understood the surgical team’s plan.
This is the 70th operation carried out by the Saudi program for conjoined twins, which since 1990 has cared for 157 conjoined twins from 28 countries.
The operation is taking place at the King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City at the Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh.
Al-Rabeeah expressed his thanks on behalf of the team to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their support of the program.
The conjoined twins separation program is one of the most notable projects carried out by KSrelief.
The agency also runs a number specialized programs to provide humanitarian support across the world.
These include prosthetic limb programs for those injured in Yemen and Syria, the Saudi Noor Volunteer Program to combat blindness, the Saudi Voluntary Nabd Program for heart diseases and surgery, the Saudi Hayat Volunteer Program for earthquake victims in Syria and Turkiye and the Saudi Sama’a Volunteer Program for auditory rehabilitation and cochlear implants.
KSrelief has also supported health sectors in countries including Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Indonesia, Lebanon, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Syria as part of its humanitarian mission.
Since its establishment in 2015, KSrelief has implemented 4,234 humanitarian and relief projects across 113 countries, totaling more than $8.35 billion, underscoring the Kingdom’s commitment to global health and humanitarian development.
