care of conjoined twins Azaria and Azora Elson, who are now at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for separation surgery. The twins left Jamaica on July 27 on a flight that lasted 18 hours from Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston to Riyadh, setting a new international record as the world’s longest medical evacuation, which has been hailed a remarkable achievement.

Saudi Medevac operated the flight, with Dr Mostafa Hassan leading the medical team, ensuring the safe transport of the twins and their mother Iesha McMurray. This reflects the collaborative effort between UHWI and international medical institutions to address the complex medical needs of the twins. The conjoined twins were diagnosed in pregnancy at Victoria Jubilee Maternity Hospital and UHWI accepted their mother for further care in its High-Risk Pregnancy Unit.

At 35 weeks gestation, a Caesarian section delivery was performed by Dr Nadine Johnson and Dr Tiffany Hunter-Greaves. The babies were resuscitated at birth by neonatologists Dr Blondel Crosdale and Professor Minerva Thame. After spending their first eight months in UHWI’s Newborn Special Care Unit and 11 months of subsequent multidisciplinary care on UHWI’s general paediatrics ward, the twins have received consistent medical support throughout their lives.

Professor of paediatrics at The University of the West Indies and senior consultant paediatrician at UHWI Celia Christie-Samuels, affirmed the hospital’s commitment to providing comprehensive care for these unique patients. “From the moment we were alerted to the twins’ condition, our multidisciplinary team was mobilised to ensure the best possible support for them and their family. It has been our priority to secure a suitable solution for their surgical separation,” said Christie-Samuels, who was a speaker in the inaugural informative two-day International Conference to celebrate ‘World Conjoined Twins Day’ last year, where she was formally invited to advocate on behalf of the twins. “This advocacy has borne great fruit, as evidenced by the progress we are witnessing now in Riyadh,” added Christie-Samuels. The twins, now 19 months old, face numerous medical challenges as omphalopagus conjoined twins. They are joined at their liver and have been under continuous observation, treatment, and care at UHWI since their birth. (Jamaica Observer/ KSrelief)