NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital recently performed a rare back-to-back living-donor liver transplants on 23-month-old twin brothers from the Philippines. This marks the first paediatric twin liver transplant in the hospital’s history.
The duo were diagnosed with a congenital biliary disorder that progressed to liver failure, and as a result, the toddlers had to undergo complex surgeries. The twin brothers, Tyler and Kelly, were born prematurely, weighing 2 kg and 2.4 kg respectively.
Within two weeks of birth, they developed persistent jaundice and were diagnosed with Choledochal Cyst Type IVA—a rare congenital disorder in which the bile ducts become abnormally enlarged, eventually leading to severe liver damage. The condition progressed to liver failure, and liver transplantation became the only life-saving option.
The case was a rare challenge for the medical team, as both siblings required living donor liver transplants within days of each other, said the hospital. While their mother donated a portion of her liver to one twin, the father was medically unfit to donate. However, their maternal uncle volunteered to donate to the second child, making both transplants possible.
The surgeries were led by Dr Anupam Sibal, group medical director and senior paediatric gastroenterologist, and Dr Neerav Goyal, senior consultant and head of liver transplant surgery. One of the twins’, Tyler’s, surgery lasted more than 15 hours, while Kelly’s surgery–took 13 hours. Both involved complex surgical reconstruction, the hospital stated.
Rarest of rare case
The twins have recovered well with healthy liver function. Lead surgeon, Dr Sibal said, “Liver transplants in twins are rare, and transplantation in both children at the same time is even rarer. Out of the 645 paediatric liver transplants performed at the Apollo Hospital, this is the first set of twins.”