7 month baby undergoes liver transplant

New Delhi : A seven month old baby got a fresh lease of life, with a liver transplant at Apollo Hospital, in the Capital. Suvojit Paul was born in Kolkata with a rare and fatal liver disorder, called Biliary Aresia.

“Biliary artesia - its a condition which is present at birth, in this bile ducts of liver are not developed, so the bile pents up and it accumulates in the body - its spills in the blood - so there is prolonged jaundice - eventually the liver becomes cirrohotic and then dies,” says Dr Anupam Sibal

A liver transplant was the only viable option. But because the baby is so young, there are several risks involved. Suvojit will have to be on drugs to make sure his body does not reject the transplant -- for life.

These immunosuppressants are toxic - The risk of developing a cancer or any other form of malignancy increases 3 times with such an operation

“Success has various meanings, like there are 3 folds to it - 1st is baby surviving the transplant - one month passing - three months with no rejection then a year - we have at least passed the first two landmarks,” says M.D, Apollo hospitals, Dr Anupam Sibal.

The chances of rejection of the transplant are very high till at least 6 months after the operation. But in these cases, with babies below the age of one, it's actually not the age that is crucial, but the birth weight.

“There is nothing magical about the age - 1 year, 6 months , 8 months - size of the baby is important - when the baby is less than 10 kgs amount of blood flowing into the portal vein is very less so its complicated - sometimes we locate the blood vessels,” says Dr A.S. Soin, Gangaram Liver transplant specialist.

But nonetheless, the surgery was challenging, and doctors will be keeping close watch on his progress.

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#Liver Transplant #Biliary Aresia #Apollo Hospitals