Liver Transplantation Turns Lifesaving Treatment for a Patient with Liver Cancer

Victor, a 59-year-old man from Bangalore recently underwent living donor liver transplantation at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, Bengaluru to treat liver cancer. The patient had been diagnosed with chronic liver disease which is believed to be a result of other conditions that he had been suffering from for a long period including fatty liver disease and diabetes.

When he was initially brought to BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, his condition was severe. Doctors here chose to first control the liver cancer by TACE, an image-guided, non-surgical procedure that is used to treat malignant lesions in the liver. Once he responded favourably, he was recommended a liver transplant as a definitive cure for his condition.

At this time, his son came forward to donate a part of his liver. On running tests, it was determined that he was a suitable donor. The operation that took place on August 2019 lasted over 10 hours.

Dr Venugopal Bhaskar Pillai, Head of the department, HPB and Multiorgan transplant surgeon, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital said, “Due to long-standing diabetes, the patient also had signs of heart disease. This had to be tackled well before the patient could be taken for transplant. The cardiac team first executed Percutaneous Transluminal Angiography or PTA to clear the blocked blood vessels.”

The PTA procedure ensured that the patient was fit to undergo the liver transplantation. The surgery was carried out successfully and went on as planned. He was provided with multi-disciplinary care in the immediate post-transplant period considering his underlying heart problem and diabetes.

His son was discharged in five days while Victor was kept in the hospital for 13 days for observation and post-operative care. He is now doing fine.

Dr Sunil Shenvi, Consultant HPB and Multiorgan transplant surgeon, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital said “Living donor liver transplants are complex surgeries which take place in three parts. Firstly, we have to remove half of the liver from the living donor. Simultaneously, we remove the damaged liver of the patient. Finally, we implant the new liver into the patient’s body. There is no room for error in this kind of surgery. In this patient, the presence of liver cancer made it challenging.”

A team of doctors across specialties including Dr Venugopal Bhaskar Pillai, Dr Sunil Shenvi, Dr Kuttappa, Dr Arun, Dr Sangeetha, Dr Vijay, Dr Mahesh from the liver transplant and intensive care team, Dr Guruprasad from the cardiology team, Dr Srinath from the endocrinology team and Dr Ravindra, Dr Adarsh & Dr Bhuvan from the gastroenterology & hepatology team, all played a critical role in this surgery. On average, the liver transplant team carries out 4-6 such surgeries in a month.

With the rising awareness that a person can continue to lead a healthy life even after donating part of his/her liver or a kidney, living donor transplants are becoming more common. Cadaveric organ donations continue to be less and doctors continue to highlight the need for more organ donors to enlist.

Shailaja Suresh, CEO, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, Bengaluru noted,” BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital is a renowned centre for multi-organ transplantation in Karnataka. We have an excellent team of experienced multi-organ transplant surgeons, anaesthetists, intensivists and dedicated nursing staff that seamlessly execute complex organ transplantations with a patient-first attitude. While the expertise is available, we urge more individuals to sign up for organ donation and volunteer as a living organ donor, if any of the family members is in need. We are glad that Dr Paul fearlessly came forward at the right time to save his father’s life. We are proud of him.”

BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital has completed the highest number of liver transplants in the state of Karnataka, including living donor and cadaver liver transplantations. This is the first hospital to start an integrated liver transplant program, the first to carry out a combined liver and kidney transplant and combined kidney and pancreas transplant in Karnataka. The liver transplant team runs multiple outreach clinics across the state of Karnataka in areas like Belgaum, Hubli, Dharwad, Bagalkot, Vijayapur, Bellary, Kalaburgi, Mandya, Mysore, Shivamogga, Chikkamanaluru, Udupi and Mangaluru. The team also visits clinics in cities in neighbouring states including Trivandrum, Kochi, Kolkata & Siliguri.