Dad gives part liver to infant with brain haemorrhage

CHENNAI: A seven-month-old boy suffering from brain haemorrhage and liver failure underwent a liver transplant at Gleneagles Global Health City after his father gave part of his liver.

The boy from Andhra Pradesh was born with biliary atresia — a condition in which bile formed in the liver is not able to drain into the intestines, leading to appearance of jaundice. The condition led to liver failure and further brain haemorrhage.

“The child was treated for jaundice since birth and the underlying condition went undetected till he developed bleeding in the brain at five months. By then the only option was a liver transplant,” said hepatology and transplant hepatology director Dr Joy Varghese. With a chunk of the liver from the child’s father, transplant surgeons replaced the liver in a seven-hour surgery. “The child has recovered and has been discharged,” he said.

He weighed 5.7kg at the time of surgery. “Prolonged jaundice, white-clay coloured stools, excessive crying, not feeding well or not gaining weight should concern parents,” said liver transplant surgeon Dr Rajanikanth Patcha. “Early diagnosis and corrective surgery will help 50% of newborn babies avoid liver failure due to jaundice,” he said. TNN