Bedside vigil as conjoined twins undergo surgery
The eyes of the world were on at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital yesterday as little Hassan and Hussein Benhaffhaf, who were nicknamed the ‘little fighters’ by their parents, Angie and Azzedine, endured an incredible 20 hours on the operating table.
Angie and Azzedine will discuss the outcome with the surgeons this morning before deciding on whether to brief the world’s media.
A spokesperson for the hospital said their duty of care is to the patients, first and foremost, and that no details about the surgery, or about the boys’ condition, will be discussed with the media until the parents and doctors decide the time is right. However, an update is expected later.
The boys were born in London University Hospital on December 2 last joined at the chest. They returned to Cork just before Christmas where their care was shared by Cork University Maternity Hospital.
The family returned home to Carrigtwohill in January and were given a date for the surgery soon afterwards.
Angie announced the date publicly last month and asked for prayers ahead of the operation.
She also penned a poem in which she said she hoped her boys would “feel no pain”, and she asked for just “one more miracle”.
The moment Angie and Azzedine have been dreading finally arrived yesterday as they handed their boys over to surgeons.
The couple spent an agonising day pacing the hospital corridors waiting for news. They spent the previous night with the boys and organised a special blessing for them.
A source close to the family said they were both “exhausted and scared” but had been overwhelmed by the messages of support which have poured in from around the world.
The complex surgery to separate the four-month-olds was led by consultant paediatric surgeon, Mr Edward Kiely, and began at 8.30am.
It involved a team of up to 20 medics – including four paediatric surgeons and four paediatric anaesthetists – as well as plastic surgeons, specialist vascular surgeons and trauma nurses, working in two multi-disciplinary teams.
Hassan and Hussein are expected to be in critical condition today and will be kept under heavy sedation for several days.
The boys are expected to remain in intensive care for several weeks with their family planning to stay in London for up to four months for follow-up care.
The team at great Ormond St are world leaders in the care and management of conjoined twins.
Mr Kiely, who was born in Cork and who has been managing conjoined twins cases at the hospital since the 1980s, is a world expert in the separation of conjoined twins.
Angie and Azzedine, and their family, are being filmed by a crew from ITV’s Tonight Programme.
The family has agreed an exclusive deal with the programme makers which prevents them from speaking to other media outlets until mid-May, when the programme is due to be broadcast.
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