Amidst lockdown, Global Hospital, Mumbai conducted Consecutive Successful Pediatric Liver Transplants
Mumbai: While the entire country is reeling under the pandemic of coronavirus, a team headed by Dr Ravi Mohanka & Dr Anurag Shrimal, Liver Transplant Surgeons at Global Hospital, Mumbai gave a fresh lease of life to a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy suffering from liver cancer by carrying out successful liver transplant surgery. The hospital not only provided them with round-the-clock care during critical times but also helped both the families raise funds for their treatment.
Mayuri Dhembre, a 9-year-old girl from a village near Hingoli, and Aradhya Sarode a 7-year-old boy from Chalisgaon, located in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, suffered from Hepatoblastoma (a very rare Liver Cancer of Childhood) with an unknown cause. For the last 6 months, both the kids were taking treatment at a Mumbai-based hospital after a lump was found in the liver.
Dr Vibhor Borkar, Paediatric Hepatologist at Global Hospital, Mumbai, said “These patients need 10 cycles of chemotherapy and after the 7th or 8th cycle they need to undergo a liver transplant surgery in 2 weeks window. If we miss this window for transplant then the outcome of the disease is fatal. Hence, these patients were scheduled to undergo a liver transplant at Global Hospital. Mayuri’s surgery was scheduled in the last week of March. When this crisis started we postponed her surgery and gave her the 8th cycle of Chemotherapy. Now with all the preparations, we went ahead with their liver transplant surgery.”
Dr. Ravi Mohanka, Chief Liver Transplant Surgeon at Global Hospital, Mumbai, highlighted, “Both the patients’ COVID swab was negative. We then did High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) of the chest to ensure that they are free of Covid. As Mayuri’s mother’s (Mrs. Asha Dhembre) blood group was not a match, Mayuri was admitted at Global Hospital one week prior to the surgery and received Rituximab injection. We kept Mayuri and her mother admitted in isolation for next 7 days. We repeated their COVID test and then did her Liver Transplant on May 18, 2020. While Aradhya underwent the transplant on May 20, 2020, with his mother Aruna donating a part of her liver.”
Dr. Anurag Shrimal, Lead consultant – Pancreas and Paediatric Liver Transplantation at Global Hospital, Mumbai, added, “These are long and complex surgeries. After this, the recipient and donors were shifted to a dedicated ICU with complete isolation. The doctors and the nurses provided round-the-clock care to the children to ensure smooth post-operative recovery. Both the children are fine now and have been discharged. We ensured the safety of the kids with the compulsory use of PPE, good isolation practices, and social distancing. Even the fathers were allowed to see the kids by video conference calls.”
Mayuri’s father is a daily wage worker and Aradhya’s father is a painter. Owing to the poor financial condition of these families, Global Hospital’s social workers raised 100% funds for the treatment from various trusts and crowdfunding campaigns.
Dr. Vivek Talaulikar, Chief Executive Officer, Global Hospital, Mumbai, said, “Emergency surgeries took place during the lockdown while elective surgeries were put on the hold as per the guidelines from statutory authorities. It was essential to do these liver transplants as they were lifesaving surgeries and postponing them would have led to these kids losing their only chance to undergo the surgery. Mayuri’s transplant is the first ABO-incompatible Living Donor Liver Transplant in Western India since this lockdown.”
“We stay at Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli, and I am a daily wage worker. We live from hand to mouth, and our world came crashing down when we got to know that Mayuri suffered from liver cancer. We did not have any knowledge about the disease. On consulting the doctor, we were educated about the disease and decided to give her immediate treatment. Since, our financial condition is poor, it was not possible for us to gather a huge sum for her liver transplant. I thank Global Hospital, the doctors, and the nurses for prompt treatment. My daughter’s life was saved due to the hospital’s limitless efforts,” concluded patient Mayuri’s father Yeshwant.
