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The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center announced that its medical team had successfully separated 13-month-old Moroccan conjoined twins Saja and Doha at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh. The surgery took place on October 8, 2026 in implementation of directives from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah who supervised the procedure described it as having proceeded without complications in its critical phases. The twins had arrived in the kingdom on April 24 for preparatory assessments.
According to Dr. Al Rabeeah the examinations had shown the girls were joined at the chest and abdomen sharing membranes around the heart in addition to parts of the liver and intestines. One twin also required endoscopic treatment for a laryngeal condition ahead of the main operation. The full team comprised 23 consultants specialists nurses and technical staff drawn from multiple disciplines. Dr. Al Rabeeah said “Praise be to God we succeeded in separating the twins Saja and Duha smoothly in record time and without any bleeding.”
KSrelief figures show the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme has undertaken 73 separations since its launch in 1990. A program assessment found that 159 sets of conjoined twins from 28 countries spanning five continents have received care through the initiative over more than three decades. The Saudi government assumes all related costs for transportation treatment housing and follow-up for the children and their families. This latest case represented the fourth separation involving twins from Morocco.
Dr. Al Rabeeah has headed the surgical team for the entirety of the program’s existence building expertise through successive complex cases. Earlier Moroccan conjoined twins separated under the program included Hafsah and Elham in 2006 as well as Safa and Marwa in 2008 according to historical records from the initiative. Those prior operations helped refine techniques for the latest intervention which carried a projected success rate above 70 percent.
The current surgery occurred at the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility which has been the primary site for most program procedures. Following the separation the twins were expected to require intensive monitoring during initial recovery. Arab News reported that the medical team expressed optimism based on the intraoperative progress.
The program operates under the umbrella of KSrelief and continues to accept cases from around the world on a case-by-case basis after thorough review. Dr. Al Rabeeah has emphasized the multidisciplinary approach that combines pediatric surgery anesthesia plastic reconstruction and supporting specialties. No additional updates on the twins’ postoperative condition were available immediately after the announcement.
