Separated twins nearly ready to go home

CONJOINED twins separated by surgeons last month at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, are nearly well enough to return home.

Five-month-old Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf have made "very rapid progress", surgeon Edward Kiely said.

Mr Kiely, who led the team separating the twins during a 14-hour operation, said: "The twins are very well and they've made very rapid progress, much faster than similar twins in the past."

About 20 surgical staff worked in shifts during the complex procedure. The boys had been joined at the chest, but did not share any major organs.

Their parents, Angie and Azzedine, from Cork, in the Irish Republic, have described their sons as "little fighters".