The little fighters’ saviour

THE surgeon who successfully oversaw the operation to separate the conjoined twins, Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf, has spoken of being humbled by the bravery of the children dubbed “Cork’s Little Fighters”.

In his first interview since April’s marathon 14-hour operation, renowned surgeon Edward Kiely said the twins are recovering well and are almost ready to return home to Cork.

“The twins should be ready to leave hospital in the next couple of days,” he said. “Obviously the situation is subject to change, but there is no more surgery planned for the near future.”

The quietly spoken specialist has been involved in 22 separations of conjoined twins during his long career at Great Ormond Street. In a wide- ranging interview Dr Kiely, originally from Cork where he studied medicine at UCC, sees his lifesaving work at Great Ormond Street as no “different to any other job”.

“The separation of Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf took about 14 hours and our team consisted of four anaesthetists, eight surgeons and 10 nurses,” Mr Kiely said.

“I have been extremely lucky to work with so many talented people over the years – many have been pioneers in their specific area.”

Despite the complexity of his work the one thing that continued to surprise him was the bravery of the parents and children under his care.

“The patients and their families never cease to amaze me – their courage in the face of such huge difficulties is quite extraordinary.

“And the children themselves are wonderful – they have a different approach to problems and to their lives in general. They are not small adults and don’t respond to problems in the same way as us.

“They are so trusting of everyone around them – it can make you feel quite humble.”