34-member medical team undertakes complex, nine-stage operation expected to last around 15 hours

RIYADH, Thursday, October 15, 2026 (WNP): In implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the medical and surgical team of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program today began the separation surgery of 13-month-old Fijian conjoined twins Jasbili and Desisia at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh.

Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and head of the program’s surgical team, said the twins arrived in the Kingdom on July 21, 2026.

He said the medical team conducted a comprehensive assessment, including detailed medical examinations and several consultations, before determining that the twins were conjoined at the abdomen and pelvis and shared the liver, intestines, colon, anus, urinary system, reproductive system and pelvic bone.

According to Dr. Al Rabeeah, the operation has been planned in nine stages and is expected to take approximately 15 hours. A total of 34 medical professionals, including consultants, specialists, technical staff and nurses, are participating in the procedure.

He said that, based on the medical assessment, the complex operation has an estimated success rate of 70 per cent.

Dr. Al Rabeeah noted that the procedure marks the first separation of conjoined twins from the Republic of Fiji and the 74th case undertaken by the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.

Since 1990, the program has provided care for 159 sets of conjoined twins from 28 countries across five continents.