Separated twins meet Mubarak
2004-04-16 11:49
Houston - Formerly conjoined Egyptian twins traveled to Houston and received a warm greeting from the visiting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, including a hug and a kiss for each of them.
"The meeting primarily focused around the twins and the fact that the president was repeatedly so appreciative of the work our team had done," Dr Kenneth Salyer, the craniofacial surgeon who helped bring the boys to the United States for surgery, said on Thursday.
Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, who will turn three on June 2, were separated in October during a 34-hour surgery at Children's Medical Centre Dallas. They were born joined at the tops of their heads.
Mubarak "wanted to make sure that their health is fine," said Hesham El Nakib, spokesman for the Egyptian Embassy in the United States. "He wants to present his thanks to the doctors."
El Nakib said Mubarak wanted to make sure he saw the boys before he left.
"It was a very good visit," the boy's father, Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim, said at the airport after arriving back in Dallas late Thursday afternoon.
He said it was a historic visit for his children.
The boys were discharged from North Texas Hospital for Children at Medical City in March. They have been living with their parents and brother in a Dallas apartment while they continue physical therapy and rehabilitation sessions.
Salyer and his wife also travelled with the family to meet with Mubarak. Salyer said that the boys got a hug and kiss from Mubarak.
Salyer said that he spoke to Mubarak about the work of his Dallas-based World Craniofacial Foundation, a nonprofit organization which helps children with facial deformities.
"He said we had an invitation to come to Egypt," Salyer said.
The boys, born in a small town in southern Egypt, still need surgery to replace part of their skulls, which Salyer says will probably take place in a few months. In the meantime, they are wearing special helmets to protect their heads.
Mubarak met with President George W Bush at his ranch in Crawford on Monday and gave a speech on Wednesday night at Rice University in Houston.
- AP