A Saudi team has succeeded in separating conjoined Yemeni twins Abdullah and Abdul Rahman after a nine-hour surgery in the capital Riyadh.

The multi-disciplinary medical team was headed by former Health Minister Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, and comprised consultants in anaesthesiology, paediatric, orthopaedic, plastic surgery and urinary tract surgery as well as nurses.

The delicate surgery was carried out in nine stages and the twins are reportedly doing fine at the paediatric intensive care.

Reports said that doctors had discovered that the twins shared organs, including the intestines, and carried the surgery in nine stages.

The hospital spokesperson was quoted as saying that the twins’ bowels as well as their urinary systems and the pelvic bones needed to be separated.

Once the separation stage was over, the surgeons worked on reconstructing them.

The conjoined twins separation surgery was the 35th to be carried out in Saudi Arabia since 1990.