Yenepoya Medical Hospital Successfully performs Rare liver Surgery on 8-month-old Baby
Mangaluru: Yenepoya medical hospital, Deralakatte completed a rare liver surgery on an 8-month-old baby recently. The pediatric surgical team led by Dr Ahmed Ashraf and Dr Suhitha G successfully removed the large tumour within the right side of the liver.
The 8-month-old child hailing from Shimoga was suffering from abdominal distention and difficulty in breathing and feeding disturbance for a month. The child weighed only 6 kgs at presentation. On evaluation with blood tests and scans, the child was found to have a large liver tumour which was confirmed to be a hepatoblastoma by a CT scan. The tumour occupied almost the entire right half of the liver.
Considering the large size, 4 cycles of chemotherapy were given by Dr Harsha Prasad( pediatric hemato oncologist) following which the child underwent surgical resection of the right half of the liver( right hemi hepatectomy). This rare and risky surgery on an infant was performed by a team of pediatric surgeons of Dr Suhith G and Dr Ashraf Ahmed with the support of Dr Vivek Kaje (surgical gastroenterologist). The Anaesthesia team included Dr Vasantha OT and Dr Alif shah. Pediatricians Dr Mithun HK, Dr Shyam Sudhir, and Dr Asha Chethan facilitated the smooth post-operative recovery of the child.
Hepatoblastomas are rare liver tumours with an incidence of 1.2 in a million. Major hepatic resections are needed for these tumours which is very risky and complicated. The pediatric surgery department at Yenepoya Medical College has been performing similar life-saving procedures with the support of advanced pediatric intensive care facilities at a very affordable cost in this part of the country.
