Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s specialist conjoined twins medical team has successfully separated Filipino twins Klea and Maurice Ann after an 18-and-a-half-hour operation in Riyadh, in what officials described as one of the most complex surgeries of its kind in the world.
The procedure was carried out at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital within King Abdulaziz Medical City under the Ministry of National Guard on Thursday evening, April 23.
The seven-year-old sisters arrived in the Kingdom on May 17, 2025, and underwent months of detailed medical assessments and preparation ahead of the surgery. Specialists studied several critical factors, including overlapping brain tissues as well as Klea’s heart and kidney complications.
Dr Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who leads the medical and surgical team, said doctors successfully completed the fourth and fifth stages of the surgery, including skull reconstruction, cosmetic repair and final closure, after the first three stages had earlier been completed.
Around 30 consultants, specialists, nurses and technicians from several fields took part in the procedure, including anaesthesia, intensive care, advanced imaging, plastic surgery and neurosurgery.
Dr Al-Rabeeah said the successful operation reflected the advanced capabilities of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, which is internationally recognised for handling rare and highly complex separation cases.
He added that the programme has helped improve the quality of life for children and families while strengthening Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian and medical standing globally.
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He also thanked King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Mohammed bin Salman for their continued support of the initiative.
In a Facebook post after the surgery, the twins’ mother Maricel said the doctors had given her daughters “a new chance to live their lives” separately.
The sisters, from Lubang in Mindoro in the Philippines, are now recovering under close medical supervision.
The case marks the 70th successful separation completed under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program in more than 35 years, and the third involving twins from the Philippines.
