Pediatric Liver Transplant
A liver transplant is an operation to remove a person’s liver and replace it with all, or part, of another person’s liver. A child needs a liver transplant when their liver is damaged, isn’t working properly and isn’t likely to recover. Doctors sometimes call this liver failure. A failed liver is incompatible with life. There are many different conditions which can lead to liver failure. Doctors only recommend a liver transplant after they have tried all other treatments to save the child's liver.
A team of liver experts decide when a child’s condition merits a liver transplant. Before deciding whether a child can be taken for transplant, a transplant assessment must take place. Normally, the transplant assessment takes place over a number of days and involves a number of medical tests. If a transplant is urgent, the assessment can take place over hours rather than days. A living person, like a parent, can donate a part of their liver. This is called a "living-related donor transplant."
The donor has to be carefully assessed to see if they are suitable and not everyone who wishes to be a donor can become one. A person who donates part of his or her liver can have a normal-sized liver again within just a few weeks of donating the tissue because liver grows new cells on their own. During liver transplant surgery in the operating room, the surgeon makes an incision (cut) in the belly and removes the sick liver. The new liver is placed, and the surgeon attaches blood vessels and bile ducts from the new liver to those of the child. The incision is then stitched and closed. At the end of the operation the child is monitored closely in Intensive Care Unit.
The new liver is carefully monitored by scans and blood tests. The child returns to the ward to continue his/her recovery and rehabilitation when they are well enough. Most children stay in the hospital for a couple of weeks after surgery. The good news is that survival rates are very high and are constantly improving. Almost all kids who have liver transplants live normal, healthy lives after they recover from surgery.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is one of the pioneer institutes to offer liver transplantation in children. We have performed more than one hundred paediatric liver transplants since the program’s inception. Our exceptional multi-disciplinary team provides comprehensive family-centred care and is at the forefront of research in the field of paediatric liver transplantation.