VIJAYAWADA: In a first of its kind in the State, Manipal Hospitals has successfully performed ‘living donor pediatric liver transplant’ to give a new lease of life to a 7-year -old girl, Ramya, in a marathon surgery that lasted for 16 hours.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, consultant liver transplant surgeon, Dr Renu Kumar said, “Ramya was suffering due to abdominal distention owing to accumulation of fluid for a month, with signs such as weight loss, poor feeding and growth failure.
During our examination, we came know that the patient’s three hepatic veins were severely blocked and the major blood vessel (Inferior Vena Cava ) behind the liver was also completely blocked. She was suffering from ‘Budd- Chiari Syndrome’, a very rare condition with only a few cases reported in children.
The patient was registered in Jeevandan Cadaver Program, but in view of her rapidly deteriorating clinical condition, her mother came forward for Living Donor Liver donation (LDLT). A thorough evaluation of the mother found her to be fit for liver donation, but the surgery was a very difficult endeavour since it required a Vena Caval replacement of such a young child.
However, both mother and child are doing well after the transplant, said Dr. Olith Selvan, Chief Liver Transplant Division Dr. Sudhakar Kantipudi, Unit Head.