Media Release

Mangaluru, Jan 4: AJ Hospital & Research Centre here in association with BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals, a Parkway Pantai enterprise, has successfully performed coastal Karnataka's first ever cadaveric liver transplant in Mangaluru for a 41-year-old software techie from Bengaluru.

The surgery was performed by the combined efforts of the team of Surgeons from AJ Hospital & Research Centre and BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals comprising Dr Raghavendra C V, consultant hepatobiliary and multi-organ transplant surgeon, Dr Suresh Raghavaiah, consultant hepatobiliary and multi-organ transplant surgeon, Dr Deepthi Ramachandra and Dr Sandeep Satsangi, hepatologist, Dr Rohan Shetty, surgical gastroenterologist, and Dr Ashwin Alva, surgical gastroenterologist.

"Vijay, 41 years (name changed), from Bengaluru, came to the hospital with complaints of progressively increasing swelling of the abdomen and legs, along with worsening jaundice. He also had multiple life threatening episodes of decompensations due to liver disease. Despite visiting multiple hospitals, he had not found a solution or relief from the problem. On evaluation, it was evident that a liver transplant was required, as early as possible,as he suffered from advanced liver disease," said Dr Raghavendra C V, consultant hepatobiliary and multi-organ transplant surgeon at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals.

Due to repeated decompensations, he had to undergo repeated hospitalizations and endured a poor quality of life. There was no option for performing a living donor transplant from his family. He was registered for deceased donor liver transplant program in AJ Hospital through 'Jeevasarthakathe' (Karnataka Transplant Authority) in May 2017.

Following the availability of the organ and match with the donor, Vijay underwent cadaveric liver transplantation. The transplant team worked with the anaesthesia team led by transplant anaesthetists Dr Anindita and Dr Arun, and anaesthetists Dr Gururaj Tantry and Dr Trivikram Tantry. The procedure took around 10 hours.

"Vijay sustained the procedure well and the doctors are happy to report that he made a swift recovery. His stay in the hospital was uneventful and he was discharged within 15 days. He has been under regular follow ups and is doing well," Dr Raghavendra said.

"This marks the first successful cadaveric liver transplantation in the coastal Karnataka region and one of the very few liver transplants done in peripheral centres away from Bengaluru. We hope the success of this transplant paves the way for more transplants to come in the near future at AJ Hospital. AJ Hospital is a fully equipped medical centre with state-of-the-art infrastructure, necessary for conducting liver transplantations. We expect to reach more patients in and around Mangalore, who are in need of such procedures," he said.

"Nationally, with a population of over 1.2 billion people, the statistics stand at 0.08 persons as organ donors per million population (PMP). This is an incredibly small and insignificant number compared to the statistics around the world. Countries like Spain, Croatia and Singapore have organ donor of 20-40 PMP. Organ donations are the need of the hour, and increased awareness on this matter will help us save more lives," said Dr Prashanth Marla, medical director, AJ Hospital & Research Centre.

About AJ Hospital & Research Centre: AJ Hospital & Research Centre was the first hospital to do renal transplantation in 2002 and the first hospital to do cadaveric organ harvesting in Mangaluru in 2015. Now yet again, AJ Hospital is the first hospital to do a successful cadaveric liver transplantation in this region.

About BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals: The BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals in Bengaluru is a state-of-the-art, NABH facility with expertise in multi-disciplinary tertiary specialties. With over 500-beds, the hospital is one of the largest of its kind in Bengaluru and consists of 14-operation theatres, most advanced imaging facilities and has one of the largest liver ICUs in the country. The hospital caters to several key specialties including oncology, neurosurgery, liver diseases and various others. It brings advanced technologies that drive new and more effective treatments.