RIYADH – Rana and Reem are breathing separate lives today. The Saudi twins, born joined at the lower abdomen, pelvis and sharing a fused genito-urinary system with one anal canal, were successfully separated after a marathon 13-hour surgery at National Guard's King Abdul Aziz Medical City (KAMC) early Friday. It was the 30th twin separation performed under the supervision of Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, who is an internationally recognized expert on separating Siamese twins. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, praised the successful surgery carried out by a multi-disciplinary medical team comprising 28 members. “What you have done is a good deed in the service of humanity and you really deserve our thanks,” said the King in a message to Dr. Rabeah and his medical team. It was yet another feather in the cap of Dr. Rabeah and King Abdul Aziz Medical City where 63 sets of twins from 17 countries have been treated, 30 of whom were separated successfully. All these surgeries have been performed under the instructions of King Abdullah, who bears all expenses. It is not for nothing that the Kingdom has earned the status as “the Kingdom of Humanity.” Each case of Siamese twins successfully separated at KAMC has a humanitarian history. In 2007, conjoined twins from a non-descript village of Cameroon were brought to Riyadh at the King's expenses after health institutions in US, Europe and South Africa refused to treat them until an upfront payment of FCFA 35 million was made. Speaking at a reception after the successful surgery, the representative of Northwest Governor Alfred Muluh Takwi said the financial expense of more than FCFA 36 million incurred by King Abdullah is a glaring proof that assistance and medical care have no political or racial color.
