CONJOINED TWINS Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf travelled to London from their home in Cork yesterday as preparations continue for their separation surgery due to take place on April 7th next.
The three-month old twins will spend the next few weeks in London with their parents Angie and Azzedine and the couple’s other two children Malika (4) and two-year-old Iman as surgical arrangements are finalised at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The twins, their parents and siblings were flown by the Air Corps to the RAF airbase at Northolt in London yesterday morning. They were joined on board by a medical team from the AE department at Cork University Hospital and a nurse from the neo-natal intensive care team at the hospital.
The twins’ mother Angie and her Algerian-born husband Azzedine are facing a nervous wait as their sons are expected to spend 20 hours in theatre.
Mrs Benhaffaf has received messages of support from people throughout the State and she intends to spend some of her time in London reading a book she has compiled with letters from among others President Mary McAleese and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Mrs Benhaffaf has asked the public to pray for her sons as the surgery date draws near. “We would ask everyone to keep them in their thoughts and prayers. It will be our ‘Little Fighters’ final battle. The whole country has given us support and that has totally overwhelmed us.”
The Benhaffaf’s have received messages of support in recent days from, among others, the staff at Cork University Maternity Hospital, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, Bishop of Cork and Ross John Buckley and Lord Mayor of Cork Dara Murphy.
Cllr Murphy said: “I know the people of Cork have very much taken these boys to their hearts and wish them the very best and I hope, as they face into this enormously difficult time, that they can take some small solace in knowing that they will be in all of our thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks.”
The twins were born at University College Hospital in London in December.
Leading the surgical team for their separation is Cork-born paediatric surgeon Edward Kiely. Mr Kiely said the survival rate at Great Ormond Street, for planned separations where children are stable and separation can be done at a suitable time, is about 80 per cent. Moreover, under these circumstances the twins usually survive and have a good quality of life.
It is understood the twins are conjoined at the chest area but don’t share any vital organs, making separation possible.
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from one in 50,000 births to one in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in southwest Asia and Africa. The condition is more frequently found among females, with a ratio of 3:1.
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.
Care of the twin boys has been shared between Cork University Maternity Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Fundraising continues for the Benahaffafs. For those who wish to contribute the Little Fighters fund account is at the Permanent TSB’s Patrick Street branch in Cork: sort code 99-07-03 and account number 16556196.