Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Madurai hospital performs liver transplantation on two children

03/12/2019, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

Liver transplantation was the only option available for those with end-stage liver disease, said Rajesh Prabhu, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Apollo Speciality Hospitals.

Speaking to media persons here on Friday, he said they operated on two seven-year-old children with chronic liver diseases - autoimmune liver disease and Wilson’s disease - earlier this year. While the first disease abnormally identifies its own body tissues as foreign, the second disease sees excessive deposit of copper in the liver.

One parent of each child donated their livers for the surgery. While the first surgery took place in August, the second was performed in October. Both the surgeries took between eight and 10 hours as the surgery between the donor and the recipient had to take place simultaneously, said Dr. Prabhu.

“As children need only a small size of liver, donors need to donate only a very small portion of their liver. This carries virtually no risk,” he said.

The doctor added that both chronic liver diseases will certainly be fatal if not treated on time. In case of children, the progression was generally rapid and hence need to be dealt with swiftly, he said.

J. Madhusudhanan, Consultant Liver Transplant Surgeon, said “In paediatric transplants, the blood vessels that need to be sutured are very small adding to the complexity of the operation and demands a high degree of skill and specialised equipment,” he said.

The two children who were in critical care units have recovered well. “They must only come back for consultations and check-ups regularly,” he said.

Liver disease in children was one of the most under-diagnosed and under-treated illnesses in the paediatric population in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu as there is a dearth of specialists and specialised centre dedicated for this purpose, said Murugan Jeyaraman, Senior Consultant Pediatrician & Neonatologist.

Rohini Sridhar, COO, said speedy recovery of patients was a testament to the quality of work of doctors. The hospital had received approval for living donor liver transplantation under Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, she said.

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