Bengaluru: A city hospital performed a liver transplant to save the life of a 51-year-old patient suffering from acute liver failure caused by anti-tuberculosis medication. His condition was fast deteriorating when he arrived at the BGS Global hospital.
A liver transplant was the only option for Manjunath and it took place in late October. The surgery lasted nearly 12 hours, including the time taken to harvest the organ from the donor.
A multi-disciplinary team including Dr Sanjay Govil, Dr Suresh Raghavaiah, Dr Raghavendra CV (Transplant Surgery team), Dr Vinit Shah (Hepatologist) and a team of intensivists and anesthetists worked on the surgery.
Dr Sanjay Govil, Senior Consultant, HPB & Liver Transplant Surgery said, “For patients with acute liver failure, time is crucial. Transplantation must be performed within days of hospital admission and requires an experienced team of doctors to maintain the patient while waiting for an organ for transplantation.”
Dr Suresh Raghavaiah, Consultant, HPB & Multi Organ Transplant Surgery, said that liver support measures such as plasma exchange to purify blood and remove toxins are particularly useful and in specific instances might permit the liver to recover spontaneously without transplantation. An elective liver transplant patient usually requires about three weeks of hospitalisation and about three months of recovery outside of the hospital.
In Manjunath’s case, given that he was very sick, he stayed in the hospital for 5 weeks and continues to be on follow up with the doctors.
