KGMU docs perform two successful liver transplants in two days

LUCKNOW : In a life-saving feat, doctors at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) conducted two successful liver transplants in two days. The surgeries were done on May 15 and 16 and both the recipients and donors have been discharged, said a press statement from the medical university on Thursday.

A 51-year-old male Ghaziabad-resident was suffering from advanced stage liver cirrhosis with Hepatocellular carcinoma. His 21-year-old daughter donated half a part of her liver. While the daughter (donor) was discharged one week after surgery, the patient was discharged on May 23.

Another patient, a 33-yearold male Siddharthnagar-resident, was suffering from hepatitis B with advanced stage liver cirrhosis. His 32-year-old wife donated half a part of her liver. While the wife (donor) was discharged to home one week after surgery, the patient was discharged on Thursday.

This is the 24th successful liver transplant at KGMU. With a success rate of more than 90%, KGMU is at par with the success rate of the most advanced centres in the world.

The surgery team was led by Dr Abhijit Chandra, HoD Gastrosurgery, and Dr Selvakumar. Other doctors -- including Dr Tanmay Tiwari, Dr SN Sankhwar, Dr Tulika Chandra (Blood Transfusion), Dr D Himanshu, Dr Ajay Kumar (Medicine), and Dr Sumit Rungta (Gastromedicine) -were also part of the team.

“More than two lakh patients suffer from liver cirrhosis in India per year. Most of these cases occur due to alcohol abuse, diabetes, viral infections or immune disorders. Only about 2,000 liver transplants are done in India per year,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general association of international doctors.