Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals successfully performs first split liver transplant in two adults

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals has announced the successful completion of a cadaver split liver transplant wherein both the parts of the liver were given to two adult recipients.

The right half of the liver was given to a patient named Sarin and the left half to another patient Lalita Gupta. Both patients were very ill with very advanced liver disease. Numerous living related donors for both these patients had been tested in the past and proven unsuitable for donation.

This is the first split liver transplant in two adults reported in the city and the second in the India.

"In split liver transplant, the intention is to use the single liver for two patients. Unfortunately because the two parts are not equal, surgeons use the right half for an adult patient and the other half for a small child. Cadaveric liver are very rarely split and used for two adults with advanced liver disease. In this case, the cadaveric liver was split in situ using our vast experience of living related liver transplant. The right lobe was retrieved as a conventional modified right lobe graft. The remaining liver was removed en bloc with caudate lobe, IVC and coeliac axis. Retrieving the caudate lobe allowed the liver to be used in another adult recipient. This is the first split liver transplant where the left lobe was transplanted with the caudate lobe," said Dr. Subash Gupta, Chief Liver Surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, while explaining the uniqueness of the case.

"Cadaveric organs continue to be in short supply and therefore every effort must be made to use these donated organs in as many needy recipients as possible. Splitting liver in to adults may address the perennial shortage of organs in India and we hope that many more of these complex operations are done in the future," he added.

Both the patients have recovered well and have been discharged from the hospital.

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, India's first JCI accredited hospital, is a joint venture between the Government of Delhi and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.

Commissioned in July 1996, it is the third super-specialty tertiary care hospital set up by the Apollo Hospitals Group. Spread over 15 acres, it houses 57 specialties with more than 300 specialists and more than 600 operational beds, 19 operation theatres, 138 ICU beds, round-the-clock pharmacy, NABL accredited laboratories, 24-hour emergency services and an active air ambulance service.

Apollo Hospitals Delhi has the leading programme in kidney and liver transplant in the country. The first successful pediatrics and adult liver transplants in India were performed at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. The hospital is at the forefront of medical technology and expertise. It provides a complete range of latest diagnostic, medical and surgical facilities for the care of its patients.

The hospital has introduced the most sophisticated imaging technology to India with the introduction of 64 slice CT and 3 Tesla MRI, Novalis Tx and the integrated PET Suite. Indraprastha Apollo has also pioneered the concept of preventive health check programmes and has created a satisfied customer base over decades.

The hospital has been consistently ranked amongst the best 10 hospitals in India by 'The Week' survey for the past few years.