In what is claimed as first of its kind surgery, specialists at Apollo Hospitals here have successfully performed a combined living donor liver transplant and a open heart surgery on a five-year-old girl.

"This is the first time that both surgeries were performed on a five-year-old patient anywhere in the world,’’ Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, told newspersons at a press conference held here on Thursday.

The girl, Parvati Rohra, daughter of Harish and Prerena hailing from the city, is suffering from a rare genetic disorder called Alagille Syndrome which occurs in 1:1,00,000 children and impacts liver, heart, lungs, kidneys, bones, among others with varying degrees severity among different patients.

With a weight of just about ten kilograms, Parvati had a highly traumatic life, deprived of normal childhood, and was brought to Apollo for treatment about two years ago.

A multi-disciplinary team of doctors led by Manish C Varma, Head of Liver Transplant Department at Apollo, performed the two surgeries one after another using a part of the liver from Parvati’s mother on January 24, 2017. The baby was discharged on February 7 and has since recovered.

The girl and her parents were also present during the press conference.