RAIPUR: Ashvi, a seventeen-month-old baby girl from Chhattisgarh has become the youngest liver recipient in western India, and second in the country after her father donated a part of his liver to save her life.
A resident of Raipur, she was suffering from a rare disease of the liver and bile ducts -- biliary atresia, that occurs in infants when the bile flow from the liver to the gall bladder is blocked. It led the bile to be trapped inside the liver, causing damage and scarring of the liver cells (cirrhosis).
“She is my only child. We were very disturbed. Now Ashvi is quite normal and consuming the usual prescribed food. Doctors found improvement in her liver functioning. Such a delightful experience to see a smile on her face” the girl’s father, Sachindra Singh told the New Indian Express.
He said that within four weeks of her birth, Ashvi had begun showing symptoms of ill-health that included frequent fever, a swollen abdomen and jaundice. She was later diagnosed with biliary atresia, a complicated liver problem.
Following the medication and surgery, the doctors in Raipur advised Ashvi’s parents for an urgent liver transplant, and Sachindra Singh took her to Mumbai for treatment.
“When Ashvi came to us she was suffering from jaundice and swollen abdomen as all the bile had accumulated in the liver, endangering it. Our team planned her transplant, immediately began identifying a liver donor, and getting her nutritionally fit and infection free. It took about three months”, said Dr Saista Amin, Transplant Hepatologist at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
Her father was found to be a perfect match and she became the youngest child to have undergone a successful liver transplant in western India.
Dr Vinay Kumaran, who heads the liver transplant surgery team said, “Performing a liver transplant on a baby girl aged 17 months with a weight of 7 kg was indeed a big challenge for the surgical team. Multiple teams from various departments of the hospital were involved during the surgery”.
Ashvi later underwent a neuro-rehab programme that enabled a speedy recovery.
Sachindra Singh, who works in a private firm in Raipur, said that it was beyond his reach to meet the cost of the liver transplant. “The support from the Chhattisgarh government, some well-wishers and the Mumbai hospital where my daughter was surgically treated arranged a big private donation. They all assisted in meeting the costs”, Singh said.
The liver transplant and related treatment expenses touched Rs 30 lakh, he informed. Ashvi and Sachindra Singh are likely to be discharged next week.