RIYADH: A team of doctors headed by Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah saved the life of one Somali conjoined twin born on Thursday.

In response to an appeal made by Fartoon Sheikh, mother of the Somali twins, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah directed King Abdulaziz Medical City to perform an emergency separation surgery on the twins soon after the delivery.

In a prenatal clinical examination in Jeddah, Sheikh and her husband Shuaeb Ibrahim discovered that their twins would be joined at birth and sought the king’s help to save at least one child.

“The pregnant woman was admitted on an emergency basis on Thursday and underwent caesarian operation whereby a very unique case of conjoined twins was delivered,” said a hospital spokesman. “The case included one normal baby and another dysmorphic anencephalic baby with major heart problems.”

The multidisciplinary team headed by Al-Rabeeah performed the separation of the conjoined twins who carried an 80 percent mortality risk. The team managed to separate the normal baby from the abnormal baby as had been planned prior to the surgery.

The surviving twin, Huda, is stable. Al-Rabeeah said three days after the successful separation, Huda is doing extremely well and all her vital organs have returned to normal and her breathing has stabilized. She has been taken off the artificial respirator and is breathing normally, he added.