Liver transplant for infant successful

Hyderabad: The specialists at Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad, successfully performed a liver transplant on a four-month-old baby.

The doctors who were attending the baby in Vizag, performed a Porto-enterostomy surgery, to treat a pediatric liver disease, where the biles are abnormally narrow, blocked, or absent. The baby was 2.5 months old when he underwent this surgery. However, there was no sign of jaundice subsiding even after the surgery, while his condition deteriorated further and was advised liver transplant and was brought to Apollo Hospital, Jubilee Hills.

The liver transplant surgery was performed using a piece of liver donated by his mother, Sarojini, on March 14. The baby recovered well and was discharged nine days after surgery on March 23. The donor was discharged on March 19 after surgery.

The transplant surgery on such small babies is technically challenging and very few centres worldwide have the capability to perform liver transplants in children less than 5 kg weight and less than 6 months of age. At Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, the Pediatric Liver Transplant team has tremendous experience and expertise along with the technology to perform critical and delicate liver transplant surgeries in infants," said Dr Manish C Varma.

"There is a need for spreading awareness that however small and underweight the baby is, it can be treated with a liver transplant if it needs it," said Y Subramanyam, CEO Apollo Hospitals.

The complicated liver transplant was carried out by a multidisciplinary team consisting of Dr Ramesh Srinivasan, pediatric hepatologist, Dr L Sasidhar Reddy, transplant surgeon, Dr Manjunath and Dr Vijay, anesthetists and intensivists respectively and Dr Samiya Razvi, pediatric pulmonologist, at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad.