FIVE-MONTH-OLD Cork twins, Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf, who were separated by surgeons in London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, are due to arrive home in Cork today, just over one month after their 14-hour operation.
The progress made by the twins has delighted the hospital: “They are doing really well. They are growing constantly and at a reasonable rate. I have no concerns,” said surgeon, Edward Kiely, who led the team of specialists.
Their parents, Angie and Azzedine Benhaffaf said: “We are so relieved and so happy to announce that our little fighters are coming home. All the prayers were answered and we thank God that it’s all six of us returning home.
“Hassan and Hussein have gone through so much in their young lives already and now we hope that we can give them the happy future they both deserved,” said the couple, who live in Carrigtwohill, outside Cork City.
Thanking the public for “their overwhelming love and support” and the press “for respecting our privacy and being so sensitive”, the couple paid their warmest tribute to Great Ormond Street staff ‘for giving our boys the incredible gift of separate lives’.
“As tough as the past year has been for all of us, we feel so much good has come out of this experience. Hassan and Hussein have brought out the best in everyone and reminded us all of the things that are important in life, which is family, unconditional love and above all hope,” they said.
The twins, who were joined from chest to the pelvis, now each have one leg, but Mr Kiely told The Irish Times that he believed they will have “virtually everything they need, and I think they will lead virtually normal lives”.
During his career, Mr Kiely has operated on three other similar cases of conjoined twins, though one of them has since died.
Saying that both he and Great Ormond Street staff were delighted that the twins are able to return to Ireland so quickly, Mr Kiely said: “We now have two very independent little boys with every chance of a great future. The operation itself turned out to be fairly straightforward.
“Their hearts were not joined, but nearly everything else was, that includes the liver, gut and bladder, all of which we separated. It is certainly not just down to me but to the whole team at the hospital who have provided the family with consistently high levels of care and expertise.
“For babies who are joined over such an extensive area, they have recovered much faster than is usually the case,” he said.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been in a position to discharge babies like this within a couple of months. We’re delighted,” he said, adding that the boys would need follow-up care in the months ahead.