Conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf travelled to London from their home in Cork today as preparations continue for their separation surgery.
The twins, who were born at University College Hospital in London in December, are due to be separated at Great Ormond Street Hospital on April 7th.
The twins’ mother Angie, who is from Togher in Cork, and her Algerian born husband Azzedine will spend next few weeks in London helping the twins prepare for their operation, which is expected to take up to 20 hours.
It is understood the twins are conjoined at the chest area but do not share any vital organs, making separation possible.
Cork-born paediatric surgeon Edward Kiely is leading the surgical team.
Mr Kiely said the survival rate at Great Ormond Street Hospital for planned separations where the children are stable and separation can be done at a suitable time is about 80 per cent. He said both twins usually survive and have a good quality of life.
Great Ormond Street Hospital 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.
The twins, their parents and their two sisters Malika (4) and Iman (2) were flown by the Air Corps to the RAF airbase at Northolt in London this morning.
They were joined on board by a medical team from the A&E department at Cork University Hospital and a nurse from the neo-natal intensive care team at the hospital.