100th child liver transplant at Medanta

It was a big achievement for Dr AS Soin, chief liver transplant specialist at Medanta-The Medicity in Gurgaon, when he along with his team performed the 100th child liver transplant this week; Jaya Shroff reports.

It was a big achievement for Dr AS Soin, chief liver transplant specialist at Medanta-The Medicity in Gurgaon, when he along with his team performed the 100th child liver transplant this week.

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Dr Neelam Mohan and Dr V Vohra, who are a part of the team, have done 103 transplants so far — 50 at Sir Gangaram Hospital and 53 at Medanta in two years.
“Globally, we are now ahead in the field of live donor liver transplant in children, and are able to save more than 90% of kids dying due to liver failure,” said Dr Soin.

“More than 10,000 children die annually due to liver failure in India, of which at least 2,500 could be saved with liver transplants. But most people are not aware that their child could die of liver failure as they ignore symptoms, till they go out of hand,” he warned.

Yellowness in eyes, lethargy, poor feeding and abdominal distension in a 6-month-old baby could be the signs of the life-threatening liver failure, caution liver specialists. “One should never ignore early signs and consult a paediatrician soon,” added Dr Soin.

He explained that usually, one of the parents donates 20-30% of their liver and the procedure is quite safe.

“Both our 1st patient Ayush and 100th patient Mehak were suffering from acute liver failure due to Wilson’s Disease, said Dr Neelam Mohan, chief pediatric hepatologist.