In an exemplary first, the Manipal Hospital has conducted a successful liver transplant on a child using a healthy part of the liver of her mother. The surgery places the hospital in the league of a few healthcare setups within the country offering this super specialization service.

The most significant aspect of this achievement was that the procedure was done by an in-house team of well qualified transplant surgeons.

Shveta Gore, an architect by profession gave up her job without any regret before her daughter Prachi was born. She wanted to be full time mother devoted to Prachi’s upbringing. She never knew that one day she would have to fight great odds to save her baby’s life.

The child was diagnosed with Alagille Syndrome with chronic liver disease three days after she was born and that was the beginning of a long battle against the disease. Through the course of next three and a half years, Prachi had terrible itching (Intractable Pruritus), which would keep her awake throughout the day and night, and suffered liver failure and significant growth retardation.

When Shveta and her husband Deodatta, an engineer in a reputed organization in Bangalore, brought Prachi to Manipal Hospital, liver transplant was the only option left for her. The doctors would have to replace the damaged liver of Prachi with a healthy part of liver donated by one of her parents. It was a very challenging procedure and Shveta knew that she was the right person to donate a part of her liver for her daughter. “My husband has the responsibility of looking after the entire family and he could not have been put at risk,” said Shveta, who did not hesitate even for a second to take the decision.

During the transplant a part of the healthy liver of the mother was surgically separated and transplanted into the child after removing her diseased liver. The age of the child and the small blood vessels made this a particularly challenging surgical intervention. The team of surgeons along with intensivists and support from plastic surgery, paediatric surgery and anesthesiology, joined the small blood vessel supplying blood to the liver using a microscope to ensure a surgical success.

Post surgery, the transplanted part of the mother's liver in Prachi is functioning perfectly as was evidenced by the disappearance of symptoms like itching and her liver function tests have shown positive results.

The team of doctors who oversaw this surgery included, Dr. Sadiq Sikora, Dr.Ramcharan T, Dr Srikanth, and Dr TLVD Prasad Babu, of the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at the Manipal Hospital Bangalore.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sikora, Chief Surgical Gastroenterology, said, “Over 200,000 people in India die of liver related diseases every year. We have been fortunate to have the state-of-the-art facilities and well trained clinical team with us. Hence we can now offer hope to these patients and help in saving lives.” Dr Ramcharan, transplant surgeon who joined Manipal from New Orleans, United States, said, “The surgery was a great challenge that was overcome by Prachi’s will power and the family’s conviction. We hope more such people come forward for saving the lives of their near and dear ones.”

Congratulating the team on the successful surgery Dr. Nagendra Swamy, Group Medical Director, said, “We will now aim to make Manipal Hospital a benchmark in all liver related ailment treatments in India.”

Today, Shveta is a cautious but hopeful mother, who was not scared to go to any limits to save her daughter. And her efforts have worked. Prachi’s itching has stopped, her appetite has increased. Both the parents are looking forward to a healthy future of their daughter.

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