73 operations and 36 years of hope...the story of Saudi Arabia with conjoined twins

Listen to the article. The audio text is automated, generated by an automated system

From the operating room in Riyadh, a new story began in a Saudi journey that spanned more than three decades in dealing with one of the most delicate and complex medical cases. The medical and surgical team of the Saudi Program for Conjoined Twins succeeded in separating 13-month-old Moroccan twins, Saja and Wadha, at King Abdullah Specialist Hospital for Children in King Abdulaziz Medical City.

The operation, which took place today, October 8, 2026, was the 73rd in the program’s history since its launch in 1990, adding to a long record of operations that received cases from different countries around the world. “Saja and Wadha” had arrived in the Kingdom on April 24, before undergoing careful examinations that revealed their adhesion to the chest and abdomen, with their involvement in the membranes of the heart, liver, and intestines, in addition to a problem in The larynx of one of the two girls required endoscopic treatment before the separation procedure.

The process was not just a single surgical procedure, but a multi-stage medical journey. According to the head of the medical and surgical team, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah, it was implemented in 6 stages and took about 6 hours, with the participation of 23 consultants, specialists, and nursing and technical staff, from specialties that included anesthesia, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, and supporting specialties.

The nature of the case reveals the extent of the complexity that the medical team dealt with, given that the twins share a number of vital organs, while the success rate of the operation before it was performed was estimated at more than 70 percent. After the separation process was successfully completed, the medical team continued the necessary reconstructive and plastic surgery stages.

Behind this process is a bigger story that began in the Kingdom in 1990, when the Saudi Program for Conjoined Twins was launched to receive cases from various countries of the world and provide them with specialized medical care.

Over the course of more than 36 years, the program has developed into one of the most prominent Saudi medical and humanitarian experiments in this field, based on cumulative experience in dealing with cases that differ in the degree of adhesion, joint organs, and the complications associated with them.

With Operation Saja and Duha, the number of operations performed by the program reached 73, while since its launch it has cared for 159 twins from 28 countries on five continents.

Care does not stop at the operating room; The Kingdom covers the expenses of separation, treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to hosting the twins and their families during the period of medical care. The cost of one operation, according to data published about the program, reaches more than 266 thousand US dollars, equivalent to one million riyals, depending on the nature and complexity of the case.

During 2026, the program continued to record successful operations for various cases, reflecting its breadth of experience in dealing with complex adhesion cases.

In April, the team succeeded in separating conjoined Saudi twins in an operation that took about 6 and a half hours and was carried out in 6 stages with the participation of 23 consultants, specialists, and technical and nursing staff.

In the same month, the team performed a separation operation for the Filipino twins, Clea and Maurice Anne, who were conjoined in the head area, in one of the most complex cases. The operation took about 18 hours and was carried out in 5 stages with the participation of 30 consultants, specialists, and nursing and technical staff.

In May, the team succeeded in dealing with the case of Tanzanian twins, Nancy and Nice, in a complex operation that took about 16 hours, with the participation of 35 consultants, specialists, and nursing and technical staff.

In June, another achievement was added to the year's record with the successful separation of Filipino twins, Olivia and Gianna, after a multi-stage process in which 22 consultants, specialists, nursing and technical staff participated.

Then Saja Wadha came in October to record operation No. 73, confirming that the program continues to receive cases from different countries and deal with varying degrees of surgical complexity.

The story of the program is not summed up in the numbers of operations and the number of hours that doctors spend in the operating rooms. From the beginning, this experience was linked to a humanitarian aspect based on receiving children from different countries and providing treatment for them without burdening their families with the burden of the medical trip.

The Kingdom bears the costs of treatment, surgery and rehabilitation, as well as transportation, accommodation and hosting during the period of medical care, making the treatment journey integrated, starting from receiving and studying the case and not ending once the separation process is successful.

This care also extends beyond the classroom, as the program follows up on cases that have undergone operations through therapeutic and rehabilitative programs aimed at supporting recovery and improving quality of life.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah is considered the pioneer of real achievement in operations to separate conjoined twins. His career was not limited to medical and surgical work, but rather extended to leadership positions during which he contributed to the development of the health and academic sectors in the Kingdom.

He held a number of positions, including Executive Director General of Health Affairs in the National Guard, establishing and managing King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, and chairing the Board of Directors of the General Corporation for King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. He also served as Minister of Health between 2009 and 2014, before being appointed as an advisor to the Royal Court, in addition to assuming general supervision of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid since 2015.

In the field of conjoined twins, Dr. Al-Rabiah’s name is associated with one of the most prominent Saudi medical experiments, as he is the supervisor of the separation operations of more than 150 conjoined twins from 26 countries within the Saudi Siamese Twins Program, and he participated in conducting dozens of complex separation operations. In addition to his surgical work, he contributed to enriching the academic field by publishing about 105 specialized research and working papers, and writing 5 books on Siamese twins and pediatric medicine and surgery, so that his path combines medical expertise, academic work, health leadership, and the humanitarian mission.

The impact of the Saudi experience extended to the international level, after the United Nations General Assembly adopted in 2024 November 24 as World Day for Conjoined Twins, in accordance with Resolution A/RES/78/313, to be celebrated annually starting in 2024.

The Kingdom was one of the countries that co-sponsored the draft resolution, and during its discussions before the General Assembly, it presented its experience extending for more than 30 years in this field.

Thus, the story of separating conjoined twins in Saudi Arabia is no longer limited to the success of an operation here or there, but rather has turned into an accumulated medical and humanitarian experience, combining surgical experience and extended care, and receiving cases from different parts of the world.

In every new operation, from “Saja and Duha” to the cases that preceded it, the same story is repeated: two children facing a rare and complex condition, a medical team competing against time and accuracy, and a Saudi program that made the operating room the starting point for a new life.