Chennai

Gowmathi, mother of a five year-old, was brought to MIOT Advanced Centre for Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases after 10 days of jaundice and acute abdominal pain. She had early been evaluated at another hospital, which was unable to treat it.

At MIOT, after she underwent a Trans-Jugular Liver Biopsy (TJLB), it was found out that her liver was severely damaged and she required an immediate transplantation. While her father and brother came forward to donate a part of their liver, they were found to be unsuitable. Soon, her condition began deteriorating and she was on life support and ventilator, while an emergency alert was sent to the state transplant authority for immediate allocation of an organ. However, on the same evening.

A brain dead road accident  victim’s family had come forward to donate his organs. After a sevenhour procedure, the transplant was successful and she began to recover. Within 12 hours, she was out of coma and life support within 24 hours. Within three days she began interacting with family and soon he was on a normal diet. She is set for discharge soon.

The case brings back the focus on TJLB, a procedure that is performed in patients when liver biopsy is essential for the diagnosis and management, however percutaneous biopsy is contraindicated due to deranged bleeding parameters. In such a case, the biopsy is performed inside the blood vessel leading to liver and not in the liver. A procedure requiring high expertise, it is performed in very few centres in the country.