Liver Transplant in India

9 Months Old Baby with Biliary Atresia

Details of the Patient

  • Patient’s Name: Piyush
  • Patient’s Age: 9
  • Patient’s Gender: male

Symptoms shown by the Patient

  • Jaundice

An Overview of the Case

At a private hospital in Kolkata, the Kundu family of Raipur was blessed with a baby boy, Piyush. However, the baby was diagnosed with jaundice shortly after birth. Doctors at the hospital ran tests and determined that the baby had Biliary Atresia, a condition in which the bile ducts around and inside the liver are scarred and blocked. The doctors determined that the baby needed a liver transplant as a lifesaving procedure.

The family was informed about the procedure. The baby’s mother agreed to a liver transplant in Mumbai, and the patient was transferred to Mulund’s Fortis Hospital to the pediatric ICU. After evaluation, it was found that the patient was having jaundice and a chest infection. The baby was severely underweight and had developed liver failure signs and symptoms. The patient was cared for by a pediatric intensivist team in the PICU.

Antibiotics, physiotherapy, and dietary supplements were used to treat the patient over the next two weeks. Aggressive optimization was done to improve the baby’s chances of a successful Liver Transplant. The patient’s grandmother was examined by a team led by Dr. Gaurav Gupta, who determined that she was a good candidate for liver donation. The patient underwent a liver transplant surgery which, although demanding, went smoothly. Postoperatively baby has a smooth recovery.

Even though it was difficult to manage the patient as he was a baby, the concentrated efforts of Dr. Gaurav Gupta and the entire team ensured that the patient recovered smoothly without any complications.

Medical Tests Performed

  • Tests

Feedback from the Patient

This feedback is from the patient Piyush’s mother “Dr. Gaurav Gupta and the entire team were very supportive during this trying time for our family. When Piyush was diagnosed with biliary atresia, I had lost all hope. But, Dr. Gaurav Gupta and the entire team were a new light of hope for me. My child Piyush has recovered after the liver transplant, and I have no words to express my gratitude to the entire team.”

Relevant Questions

 

Q. I have had high chronic liver enzymes for the past 10 years, and in this time i visited several doctors, some of them diagnosed my condition to be gilbert syndrome. My bilurbin range is 2 to 5 as both direct and indirect, whereas elevated Alt range is 60 to 100, and my Alp remains within the normal range. Hcv pcr is negative, hbv is also negative, wilson disease is negative, and no hemochromatiis has been detected. I had got my ultrasound done in January this year (2021), everything was normal then and my mrcp was fine too. For the past few months my upper right part of the abdomen has been aching, but that happens only when i walk, otherwise i don’t experience any pain at all. Can i know what is the cause of high alt and bilurbin? Do i have some issue related to liver or is it something else?

 

Gilbert syndrome does not generally cause high Liver enzymes (AST and ALT), it can cause a rise in bilirubin. Secondly, Gilbert syndrome causes only indirect bilirubin to be high and it doesn’t cause pain in the abdomen. Some of ur symptoms don’t match with Gilbert syndrome. Any rise in liver enzymes needs to be thoroughly evaluated. I will suggest you to consult a liver specialist and get evaluated.

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Q. What can potentially cause damage liver?

 

The 3 main causes of liver damage are: Obesity, undiagnosed hepatitis infection and alcohol misuse. There are some other factors that lead to liver damage. That is,

  • Too Much Vitamin A From Supplements
  • Excess intake of Soft Drinks
  • Too much sugar

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