Split liver transplant helps save two lives in Pune | Hindustan Times (original) (raw)

Pune: A rare split liver transplant gave a new lease of life to two patients from a single donor at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital (DMH) and Ruby Hall Clinic, doctors said on Monday.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 28, 2017 Surgeon Mario Alvarez Maestro (R) and an assistant prepare a kidney for a renal transplantation on patient Juan Benito Druet at La Paz hospital in Madrid. A Frenchman recently became the first person to receive a second face transplant after the first failed, and another made history by regrowing skin lost over 95 of his body, thanks to a graft from his twin brother. Transplants are no longer limited to the vital organs: heart, liver, or lungs. Nowadays, people can get a new hand... even a uterus. But some organs remain off-limits. For now. / AFP PHOTO / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (AFP)

The liver was donated by the family of a 34-year-old patient declared brain dead.

During the procedure, a 6-year-old girl received a portion of the donated liver at Ruby Hall Clinic, while the remaining segment was transplanted into a 58-year-old male adult patient at DMH.

The complex procedure occurred three weeks ago, and both recipients have recovered well. The patient was discharged from the DMH last week.

Dr Ninad Deshmukh, consultant liver, kidney, pancreas, intestinal transplant surgeon and consultant hepatobiliary surgeon at DMH, who split the donor’s liver, said the procedure gave a new lease of life to two critically ill patients.

“Split liver transplantation is one of the most advanced procedures in transplant surgery. In this technique, a deceased donor’s liver is carefully divided into two fully functional grafts, usually allowing us to help both a child and an adult. The adult recipient was admitted to DMH. He was diagnosed with chronic liver disease due to recurrent cholangitis and cholestatic liver disease. The 6-year-old recipient was diagnosed with acute liver failure and received the liver in time, which saved her life in an otherwise high-mortality situation,” said Dr Deshmukh.

The transplant team included Dr Sachin Palnitkar, consultant hepatologist, gastroenterologist, and liver transplant physician at DMH; the transplant anaesthesia team, comprising Dr Sujit Saraf and Dr Sagar Bandhiste; transplant intensivist Dr Prasad Akole; and the nursing staff. Dr Prasad Rajhans counselled the donor’s family, officials said.