MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia over the weekend said the condition of two sets of separated conjoined twins "is improving daily."
Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Raymond Balatbat on Aug. 26 visited the children who receive "continuous care" from a team of medical experts led by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah.
The embassy said Maurice Ann and Klea Ann Misa and Gianna Faith and Olivia Faith Manuel are in good health at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH) in Riyadh.
They were successfully separated under the Kingdom’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.
The embassy, in a statement, extended its gratitude to the Kingdom "for its noble humanitarian initiatives and for giving the Filipino conjoined twins and their families a chance to live normal lives."
The Misa twins were separated last April 23 after a "complex" 13-hour surgery sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government.
Al Rabeeah, who heads the humanitarian program’s medical and surgical team, said the complexity of their case was due to the positioning of the heads, extensive sharing of cerebral venous sinuses, and intertwining of brain tissue.
The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Manila said that the operation on the twins was “one of the most complex cases worldwide,” with the participation of dozens of specialists from multiple disciplines.
The Misa twins arrived in Saudi Arabia in May 2025 and were admitted to the KASCH to undergo extensive examinations.
Meanwhile, the Manuel twins, who arrived in Riyadh in January, are the fourth set of Filipino conjoined twins to be separated under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.
The twins, born on April 8, 2024 in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, were connected from the chest to the abdomen in a rare condition known as “thoraco-omphalopagus” conjoining.
The operation was carried out last June 18 in six phases involving 22 specialized medical staff at the KASCH.
