Doctors at Fortis Escorts conduct auto-liver transplant on Kyrgyz woman
Dr Vivek Vij said the patient was suffering from abdominal pain for the past three months
NEW DELHI: Doctors at the Fortis Escorts Hospital in Delhi successfully conducted an auto liver transplant on a 35-year-old woman from Kyrgyzstan, the hospital said in a statement.
Dr Vivek Vij, chairperson of the liver transplant department at Fortis Escorts, said that the patient was suffering from abdominal pain for the past three months and was diagnosed in Kyrgyzstan with a parasitic infection, echinococcosis multilocularis, which is a slow-growing liver tumour with subsequent damage to the liver.
When the doctors in Delhi saw her, the patient already had 75% of her liver damaged, the statement said.
“At Fortis Escorts, Okhla, a CT scan was done, which confirmed the presence of the infection and showed acute liver failure. In view of the extensive damage caused to the liver and surrounding organs, the doctors decided to conduct an auto-liver transplant,” Dr Vij said.
In an auto liver transplant, the liver is removed from the body and kept in a preservative solution, after which the diseased part of the liver is removed, damaged veins are reconstructed or replaced with artificial veins, and finally the liver is re-implanted in the body, according to news agency PTI.
Vij said during the surgery, the damaged part of the liver was successfully replaced with a normal part of the liver. “Postoperatively, the patient had a fast recovery and was discharged on the 8th day of surgery in a stable condition without any immunosuppressant medicines which is usually required after organ transplantation.”
The doctor added that echinococcosis multilocularis is a rare health condition and has about a 10% chance of reoccurrence. If not treated on time and correctly, the infection may affect the lungs, kidney, large blood vessels, and intestines of the patient.
The statement said the doctors opted for auto liver transplant, where the damaged part of the liver was removed and replaced by a healthy part of the liver. “Utilizing a part of the patient’s own liver is a boon as immunosuppressive medicines are not required,” Dr Vij said.
