Benhaffaf twins to come home 'within days'

Five-month-old conjoined twins separated by surgeons will be released from hospital within days, doctors said today.

The speed at which Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf have recovered from last month’s 14-hour operation has astonished staff at the Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) in London.

They are likely to return to Cork shortly and will spend a brief period of time in hospital there before being allowed to go home with parents Angie and Azzedine.

Consultant surgeon Edward Kiely, who led the team which separated the boys, said: “They are very well. There are no particular problems at the moment and we’re hoping they might go home quite soon.

“It’s a fluid situation, but we hope that if all is well, it will be within the next few days. For babies who are joined over such an extensive area, they have recovered much faster than is usually the case.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been in a position to discharge babies like this within a couple of months. We’re delighted.”

About 20 staff, including four anaesthetists and four surgeons, worked in shifts during the complex procedure.

The boys had been joined from the chest to the pelvis but did not share any major organs. The operation has left them with one leg each.

Mr Kiely said: “I expect them to have a relatively normal, healthy life. I don’t foresee any serious problems. There’s no reason for them to need much to be done in the future.”

Their parents Angie and Azzedine, from east Cork, Ireland, have described their sons as “little fighters”.

They have relocated their entire family, including daughters Malika, four, and two-year-old Iman, to London for the operation and recovery period.

Mr Kiely praised the family for their strength while the babies have been at GOSH.

He said: “The parents have shown great courage throughout. It’s an awful business when you might lose two children all at once, so it’s an extraordinarily difficult time for them. Obviously they are now very pleased.”

The surgeon said he last saw the twins earlier today and was now looking forward to seeing them return home.

He added: “After any big operation, you’re delighted to see children get better, and then you want to see them go home as soon as they’re ready.

“You maintain some sort of follow up, but if they’re okay, the intervals between follow-ups will get longer and longer.”