Living related liver Transplantation performed in hospital

Coimbatore: A 16-year old girl, who was critically ill with acute liver failure, has got a new lease of life with a 'living related liver transplantation', thanks to her uncle.

"Living related transplantation is done where first-degree relatives can donate half of their liver to the patient, L Venkatkrishnan, Chief Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, of the PSG hospital, where it was performed recently, said in a release today.

Steffy, who was critically ill, was diagnosed to have acute liver failure and hepatic coma and the only treatment to save her life was an urgent Liver Transplant Operation.

Though, she was put on the super urgent listing of the Tamil Nadu Organ Society (TNOS), there was no liver available for 48 hours, the release said.

As the condition of the patient was deteriorating, both her father and uncle came forward for donating part of their liver so that they could save her life and investigation found the uncle's liver suitable for transplant.

The hospital got approval from a committee to go ahead with the surgery, which was performed by HPB and Liver Transplant surgeons Gursharan Singh, Joseph and Swaminathan along with the anesthesiology and critical care team of Maninder Kaur and Prashanth, the release said.

The complex surgery lasted 14 hours where half the liver was split with all its connections, removed from the uncle and put into the patient after removing her failed liver, it said.

"The partial new liver is functioning well and her uncle?s remnant liver is also functioning and regenerating well and Steffy in a month's time will be ready to go back to school and accomplish her dreams," Singh, Head Of Department HPB and Liver Transplantation Surgery.