Three-year-old gets new liver and working heart in one surgery
A three-year-old child, Divine, from Kenya recently underwent an open heart surgery and a liver transplant simultaneously at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. “Simultaneous surgery was the only option and we took a chance,” Dr Mehta explained.The 15-hour surgery took place on June 20, which had nearly 40 medical personnel in attendance, doctors at SGRH said. “She was too sick for a surgery so we spent three months treating her to improve the nutritional status. But in this case that option wasn’t available as resection of the tumour in parts could have led to further spread. Doctors claimed that this was a rare surgical feat and the only way the child could have been saved. Dr Naimish Mehta, senior liver transplant surgeon at SGRH, said a large tumour in her liver and heart was not allowing enough blood to reach all parts of the body.
