Girl donates part of liver to save father

Murugan (name changed) from Puducherry was suffering from end-stage liver disease and his health deteriorated last month. Considering the health of her father who was undergoing treatment in a private hospital, the girl volunteered to donate a part of her liver.

Following this, the team of doctors headed by senior surgeon Dr C Palanivelu performed laparoscopic liver harvesting on the girl. The right half of her liver was successfully separated within three hours and 30 minutes. “Liver re-section was done in a bloodless manner using harmonic scalpel and sophisticated equipment. No blood transfusion was given, and the entire surgery was done through five tiny holes which were sealed with a solution instantaneously, facilitating healing without stitches. The liver was placed in a bag and removed through a small incision in the lower part of abdomen, resulting in an invisible scar,” said Dr C Palanivelu. 

“In the open method, long incision and its related problems make the recovery a prolonged one and this has been a deterrent for the donors. In the laparoscopic method, all these issues are taken care of, leading to greater acceptance among the living liver donors,” Palanivelu added.

In the post-operative period, the donor was found to be ambulant from day one and was consuming normal diet. She was discharged on the third post-operative day.

The transplantation was performed by Dr Swaminathan and Dr Srinivasan, and with the patient doing well, he was soon discharged from the hospital. Doctors said that the liver consists of two halves, and each half has four segments with separate blood vessels. Enhanced imaging with 3D camera enables better visualisation of liver segments which are then separated through a bloodless plane, they added.