Delhi: 13-year-old girl in coma wakes up after liver transplant

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], May 16 : A 13-year-old girl in coma made a "miraculous" recovery after a liver transplant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi.
A few years ago, Radha suffered from liver failure. She was diagnosed with the rare disease Wilson's, and ever since then, she has battled with the aberrant accumulation of copper in her organs, particularly her liver, hepatitis A dealt a deadly blow to her already damaged liver, leading to acute chronic liver failure.
Radha's body turned like a battlefield as her illness worsened at an alarming rate. Her jaundice, accompanied by a high level of bilirubin (44), was a clear sign of failing liver function.
The PICU team at a private hospital in Delhi launched an intense effort to save Radha's life. The family was advised to consider a liver transplant as a lifesaving option. Driven by the unending love of a mother, Radha's mother bravely decided to go for a liver transplant.
The PICU team under the guidance of senior consultants paediatrics at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr Anil Sachdeva, Dr Dhiren Gupta, Dr Neeraj Gupta, and Dr Nishant Wadwa fought restlessly to stabilize this 13-year-old female child.
The twelve-hour-long procedure under Dr Ushast Dhir, Chairman of liver transplant and hepatobiliary Surgery, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital involving the mother as a donor, showed the unshakable resolve of medical science and was a masterwork of accuracy and competence. Radha opened her eyes on the 2nd day after the liver transplant.
Against all odds, the transplant worked and Radha's frail body was given new life. She recovered very well and is now back home with her siblings and getting ready to go back to school after summer vacation.
Dr Naresh Bansal, Senior Consultant Institute Of Liver Gastroenterology and Pancreatic Biliary Sciences said, "Wilson Disease is a Genetic Disease; So when this girl came to us 7 years ago, she had a liver problem, swelling in her stomach and swelling in her legs, so when we saw her and investigated, we came to know that there was copper in her body. After that, she suddenly got viral hepatitis. Her condition worsened. Everything happened that happens in the last stage of cirrhosis to her. We controlled the bleeding. Tried to bring her back to consciousness by bandaging her and giving medicine for unconsciousness, but ultimately it got infected and she went on a ventilator. We treated the infection with antibiotics and later when she reached such a critical situation that we felt she could not survive without a transplant, we handed her over to the transplant team."
Dr Ushast Dhir Director of Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital mentioned that it was the toughest case to make it possible for the youngest patient with Wilson disease to get the success of this transplant. It was difficult to counsel the family briefing the importance of a liver transplant which was the only way to save her life.
Dr Dhir further said, "The child was critical and a Living Donor Liver transplant had to be performed in the perfect window. This was made possible by the exemplary hard work and immaculate coordination amongst the multi-disciplinary super speciality teams at the hospital."