Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

These cute conjoined twin sisters have been successfully separated during a nine-hour operation at a Turkish hospital.

The operation was carried out at the Acibadem University Hospital Atakent in the north-western Turkish city of Istanbul by Dr Mehmet Veli Karaaltin and his dedicated team.

After months of preparation, the separated babies, now breathing on their own, weigh around eight and six kilogrammes respectively.

They are currently being monitored in the hospital’s intensive care unit where they are recovering from the major op.

Since February, the medical team had been preparing for the operation, using a 3D model of the twins’ bodies to work out the best way of separating them.

The girls from Algeria had separate hearts, but were attached to each other from the breastbones and shared other organs.

Dr Karaaltin said: “After an operation that lasted about 9 hours, we successfully separated the Siamese twins, which are rare in the world, thanks to our team of big-hearted people.

“This great success of Acibadem University Hospital teams was shared with praise on social media accounts abroad.”

He added: “Thanks to months of planning and preparation, hours of effort, dedication and tremendous teamwork during the surgery, we are happy to separate two conjoined sisters without any problems. God bless everyone who contributed.”