Apollo BGS Hospitals performs first Live Liver Transplant

Mysuru: Most couples marry, vowing to be with each other at all times in sickness and happinness. And here is proof of a wife donating her liver to her ailing husband. The case: Things were good for the couple from Kanakapura until the 36-year-old husband was first diagnosed with chronic liver disease after various initial tests by Dr. Rajkumar P. Wadhwa - Chief Gastroenterologist & Head, Institute of Gastrosciences, Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysuru. He advised him to undergo liver transplantation. The patient was added to an organ transplant waiting list but when no good options materialised, the couple’s anxiety grew. Exploring further options, the patient’s family was counselled for a Live donor liver transplant as cadaveric transplant would take time in view of a long waiting list. His 26-year-old wife was willing to donate a part of her liver to her husband.  After working up the donor and ascertaining that her organ anatomy is suitable for donation with internal committee approval and documentation, Apollo BGS Hospitals,  the only licensed liver transplant unit in city, performed LDLT (Live Donor Live Transplant Surgery). This is a procedure in which a living donor donates a part of their organ or a whole organ to the recipient. Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysuru surgeons Dr. Manish Chandra Varma; Dr. Anand Rammurthy; Dr. Sunil Shanwy; Dr. Karthik Raichurkar; Dr. Manjunath; Dr. Navkanth; Dr. Shashidhara Reddy; Dr. Velmurgan and the entire liver transplant team performed a successful LDLT Surgery on July 31. As on today, the couple is healthy and happy. This surgery was performed with all the required documentation and consent of the couple. “It is to be noted that a liver is a regenerative organ and can grow back to its full size in two months,” says Dr. Wadhwa.