KCI Reunited with Formerly Conjoined Egyptian Twins after Landmark Surgery

Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, the eight-year-old craniopagus twins successfully separated during a well-documented and risky 34-hour operation in 2003, will visit Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) Friday for a celebratory reunion.

To Commemorate Twins’ Progress and Growth, KCI Announces $25,000 Donation and Book Drive to Benefit CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital

SAN ANTONIO—Sept. 18, 2009— Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, the eight-year-old craniopagus twins successfully separated during a well-documented and risky 34-hour operation in 2003, will visit Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) Friday for a celebratory reunion.

The boys were joined at the skull at birth with a rare condition affecting only 2 percent of conjoined twins. After the twins’ surgeon contacted San Antonio-based medical innovator Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI), the company developed and donated a one-of-a-kind operating table used in the boys’ surgery six years ago. The twins’ physicians said the table was, in part, responsible for the successful operation.

As the Ibrahims return to the U.S., from their native Egypt, for routine check-ups they will visit KCI’s corporate headquarters (8023 Vantage Dr.) for a celebration of their extraordinary recovery. Commemorating the impact Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim have had on the people of KCI, the company will announce a $25,000 donation to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital in the Ibrahims’ honor. This gift is designed to make families’ extended hospital stays more comfortable and coincides with a KCI employee book drive, KCI’s D.R.E.A.M. (Delivering Reading Enjoyment for Ahmed and Mohamed). The employee’s goal is to collect 2,000 children’s books for the hospital’s reading room.

“KCI’s role in Ahmed and Mohamed’s story is small when considering what these two remarkable boys already have been able to accomplish in their young lives,” said Catherine Burzik, KCI president and CEO. “Doctors warned the twins’ parents that both boys stood only a 10 percent chance of survival following the surgery, but their continued improvement shows what a difference spirit and determination can make in overcoming difficult odds. We are humbled to be even a part of this story.”
The boys’ primary surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Salyer, Founder and Chairman of World Craniofacial Foundation, contacted KCI about the operation in December 2002, when the boys were just 18 months old. Knowing the serious challenges that accompany such an intensive surgery, Salyer sought a table that would circumvent the need for surgeons to continuously lift and separate the boys manually. After several visits with the Ibrahims’ physicians and a year of adapting various prototypes, KCI’s research and development team designed a pediatric operating table that met the doctors’ needs, allowing the twins to be rotated 360 degrees during the operation. Now, six years later, the boys live like typical eight-year-olds and speak Arabic and English.

KCI’s donation to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital will allow families whose children are enduring long-term medical treatment access to the following:

• Laptops to be checked out to parents who wish to remain by their child’s bedside
• New Spanish- and English-language books and magazine subscriptions to expand the offerings in the library
• Stackable washer/dryer units to be used by out-of-town families and local families who must remain at the hospital for several days

“KCI’s generous gift will be very helpful in allowing us to expand our services and replace some equipment for families who, like the Ibrahims, must remain in the hospital for extended periods,” said Marcy Doderer, Vice President and Administrator of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. “We are grateful to have the support of a prominent local corporate citizen like KCI, whose donation will enable us to provide a warmer and more welcoming environment as we meet the unique needs of children.”

KCI will honor the boys at a reception at the KCI Tower on Friday, Sept. 18, at 10 a.m., during which KCI president and CEO Cathy Burzik will present a check to representatives of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital.

About KCI

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE:KCI), is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI’s success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing and the lives of patients around the world.

The Company employs 6,700 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI, and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit www.KCI1.com.

About CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital

Serving more than 150,000 children each year, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital is a 200 plus bed facility and is the only academic Children's Hospital in San Antonio, partnering with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio while collaborating with private pediatricians to provide comprehensive pediatric services at one location since 1959. Celebrating its 50th year of service, the Hospital offers services from Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care to Children's Emergency Services, titanium rib implants, a heart program especially designed for children, a specialized asthma program, and a newly introduced transplant program. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital continues to provide quality, innovative care specifically designed to meet the unique needs of children.
 

Kevin Belgrade
Office: 210-255-6232
Wireless: 210-216-1236
kevin.belgrade@kci1.com
Katie Gaultney
Office: 210-225-6215
Wireless: 210-861-6062
katie.gaultney@kci1.com