Conjoined twins to undergo surgery

Irish conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf are scheduled to undergo separation surgery in London tomorrow.

Irish conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf are scheduled to undergo separation surgery in London tomorrow.

The four-month-old twins, who live with their parents Angie and Azzedine in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, will be operated on at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The twins – who were born at University College Hospital in London in December - were admitted to hospital today having spent the last few weeks in the UK with their parents and siblings Malika and Iman.

The surgery is expected to last about 20 hours. The surgical team is being led by Cork-born paediatric surgeon Edward Kiely.

Great Ormond Street is the most experienced centre in Europe for the separation of conjoined twins, with the teams having dealt with 21 separations and nine inoperable cases to date.

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