Coimbatore: A rare and sensitive ‘laparoscopic assisted liver donor hepatectomy’, a surgical resection has been done successfully at the Gem Hospital here recently.
Claimed to be the first such in South India, Dr Palanivelu and Dr A. S. Soin, head of ‘Gemedanta liver team (specialized liver department)’ of the hospital, performed the ‘laparoscopic assisted live donor hepatic resection’, in a unique procedure that involved a live liver donor transplant in the recipient, Balasubramaniam. His wife, Ms. Sheeba donated a part of her liver to her husband for the life-saving transplant.
Doctors said the patient had cirrhosis of the liver for more than a year and was recently diagnosed to have ‘stage two’ liver cancer. Resection, removal of the cancerous part could not be done due to risk of liver failure. Liver transplantation was the only treatment to save his life. His wife agreed to donate liver and this was done successfully. She recovered in four days and the recipient is fit for discharge in ten days, said the doctors.
Doctors said the patient had cirrhosis of the liver for more than a year and was recently diagnosed to have ‘stage two’ liver cancer. Resection, removal of the cancerous part could not be done due to risk of liver failure. Liver transplantation was the only treatment to save his life. His wife agreed to donate liver and this was done successfully. “She recovered in four days and the recipient is fit for discharge in ten days”, said the doctors.
Liver transplantation is a life saving procedure for the irrecoverable liver failure due to chronic diseases in adults such as Hepatitis C or B, or alcoholic or non-alcoholic liver disease, and diseases in children. It is also the only cure for liver cancer arising in a diseased liver, provided it has not spread to other organs. Liver transplant is also
life-saving in acute liver failure that suddenly develops over a few days.
To overcome the shortage of organs, close relatives of the liver failure patients donate a part of their liver, either a right lobe or left lobe. Liver has the capacity to re-grow within two months when a part of liver is removed also; the transplanted partial liver also has the same capacity to grow in the recipients, said the doctors on Saturday.
