Chennai: A team of doctors at Rela Hospital here performed a successful live donor liver transplantation surgery and saved the life of a critically ill seven-month-old infant from Kuwait.
Baby Mahira Ahmed was suffering from a rare genetic disorder called biliary atresia since her birth and doctors in Kuwait suggested for urgent liver transplant for child’s survival.
The baby along with her mother and grandmother came to Delhi in a flight operated under the Vande Bharat Mission after the Indian community along with friends in Kuwait made a special appeal to the Indian Government and facilitated the child’s travel and supported financially with the help from Indian Diaspora in Kuwait.
The child and her family, a native of Uttar Pradesh, landed in New Delhi in May end from Kuwait as there was no direct flight to Chennai from Kuwait and were quarantined for 15 days during which her condition started deteriorating, a release from the hospital said today.
The family took the baby to a hospital in Delhi for immediate treatment, where the doctors after analyzing the child’s history said it could not withstand the surgery and the chance of her survival was remote.
Following an appeal by the family, the child was flown to Rela hospital in Chennai in an extremely critical condition.
A team of experts led by Prof Mohamed Rela performed a successful liver transplant with the help of a segment of liver donated by the child’s mother.
The surgery took just over 10 hours and involved 12-15 members from liver transplant team, anaesthesia and intensive care.
Dr Naresh Shanmugam of Rela Institute said the Child came in critical condition and she was very weak. She weighed 4.5 kg during admission and immediately provided nutritional support to make her firm for the transplant and she was 5.4 kg before the transplant.
The child was very weak to breath by herself and required ventilator to support her breathing and with improved nutrition, she gradually gained strength and could breathe herself before the transplant was performed successfully. (UNI)