4-month-old from Tanzania undergoes liver transplant successfully in Navi Mumbai

The infant, Ryan Lyimo, who was kept in the ICU for two weeks after the surgery, is recovering, and will be discharged in a month.

A four-month-old from Tanzania was given a new lease of life after a successful liver transplant surgery at Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai.

Four-month-old organ recipient Ryan Lyimo with his parents Elirabi (left, donor) and Loveness. (Bachchan Kumar)

The infant, Ryan Lyimo, had been diagnosed with a congenital condition known as Biliary Atresia, which blocked bile flow from the liver resulting in damage and scarring of cells. The donor, the baby’s father, Elirabi E Lyimo, said that the transplant will allow Ryan to lead a “normal life.”

The procedure was carried out on June 30 by a team of doctors led by Dr Darius Mirza, multi-organ transplant surgeon and head of liver transplantation at Apollo Hospital. “Biliary Atresia is a rare condition, which can be surgically corrected with a 40% success rate if diagnosed early. However in this case, when the problem was brought to notice by the infant’s grandmother, Salome Sirikwa, it was too late for a surgical correction. So we decided to opt for a liver transplant,” said Dr Mirza. Prior to that, the infant was being treated for jaundice.

The infant, who was kept under observation in the ICU for two weeks after the surgery, is recovering. He will be discharged in a month. Elirabi has made an uneventful recovery.