Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, left, checks one of the separated twins at the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh on Monday. At right is the chief medical officer of the hospital, Dr. Saad Al-Mahrij. (AN photo)

The Sudanese conjoined twins who underwent a separation surgery on Saturday will be kept in the intensive care unit for another three weeks, according to medical authorities at the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

Conjoined Sudanese twins Mahmoud and Mamdouh were successfully separated after a 13-hour surgery.

The twins shared one gall bladder, kidney and a single urinary system.

He said the team of surgeons followed a nine-step program for separation of the two, beginning with anesthesia, key hole examination of the urinary organs, sterilization, opening of the belly and separation of the liver.

Earlier medical examinations revealed serious deformities in vital areas, such as the ventricles and the pulmonary artery, liver and gall bladder.

In a statement released on Monday, 48 hours following the surgery, Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, head of the surgical and multi-disciplinary team, said the twins are stable in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

However, Mahmood requires very careful attention due to his complex and anomalous heart, as well as having an abnormal malfunctioning kidney, which requires close monitoring and medical care, he said.

“Mamdooh is progressing well and all of his vital organs are functioning properly. He has had a slight raise in temperature, but is otherwise doing extremely well,” he said.

Both twins, he said, will be kept at the PICU for at least three weeks and will then be transferred to the pediatric ward to commence rehabilitation.

Al-Rabeeah, who is also adviser at the Royal Court and leader of the surgical team, congratulated King Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, minister of the National Guard, for the successful surgery that separated Mahmoud and Mamdouh, who were joined at the chest, abdomen, waist and lower limbs.

The parents of the twins are appreciative and thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his fatherly gesture and generosity, as well as to the medical team for the successful outcome of the separation.