Having had a highly discounted liver transplant in India, a seven-year-old Dubai resident whose congenital disease had badly destroyed her liver was allowed to fly home.
Liver Transplant in India: Ala Waleed, a Yemeni migrant who lives in Dubai with her family, underwent a successful liver transplant in January at Aster MIMS in Calicut, India. Ruqaiah Waleed, the patient’s 22-year-old older sister, was the liver donor when the patient travelled to India in November 2021 in preparation for the surgery. She underwent a laparoscopic donor procedure and donated a part of her liver. The family returned to Dubai earlier this month after the procedure.
Subsidised medical expenses
Ala was identified as having a rare genetic condition in Dubai, according to Dr. Abraham Mammen, the chief medical superintendent of Aster MIMS, who was speaking to Gulf News. “Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC), an uncommon genetic illness in children caused by bile drainage problems related to liver cell bile transport abnormalities, has been identified in the young girl. Cirrhosis and gradual liver injury are brought on by the accumulation of bile constituents within liver cells. She developed liver cirrhosis as a result, and her jaundice and growth failure were getting worse.
When does liver failure occur in young people?
“While the cause of liver cirrhosis is unknown in 30% of cases, it may occur in children due to genetic factors, the use of certain hepatotoxin medications, or liver cellular damage brought on by chronic conditions,” said Dr. Noushif M., a surgical gastroenterologist.
He said, “Biliary atresia (a bile duct problem), enzyme deficiencies, Wilson’s disease, autoimmune illnesses, and other conditions are the most typical causes of liver cirrhosis in children. Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), an uncommon hereditary condition that affects the bile duct’s cellular transport system in the liver, was present in Alaa.
Life-saving surgery
The patient and her family travelled to Calicut for the surgery and met with Dr. Jibing Kamara, a paediatric gastroenterologist at Aster MIMS, under the guidance of a group of Aster Volunteers who wanted to assist this low-income family. The hospital’s transplant team leader, Dr. Sajeesh Sahadevan, commented on the case, saying: “Liver transplantation is an extremely delicate process. The length of the transplant procedure might range from nine to fourteen hours. The diseased liver must be removed, a replacement liver must be implanted, and several vascular connections must be made. Hepatology teams led by Dr. Anish Kumar, Dr. Kishore, and Dr. Rakesh assisted our hepatobiliary surgery team, which also included Drs. Noushif M., Abishek, and Seetha.
Although liver transplants are performed in the UAE, Calicut was chosen for the procedure because of the program’s financial assistance. “Liver transplants are carried out all around the world and require expert multidisciplinary teams. However, only a few facilities perform paediatric liver transplants. Our facility has a reputation in the medical community for providing complicated hepato-biliary procedures to several patients from the Middle East. This family learned about our facility from another Yemeni national who received a liver transplant from Aster MIMS-Calicut for liver failure caused by a complicated vascular condition. Therefore, they felt comfortable performing the procedure in Calicut.
A fresh lease of life
The young girl will now be able to live a normal life, according to the physicians. She will require lifelong immunosuppressive medicine that will be gradually decreased.
Ala would require additional visits with gastroenterologists from the Aster DM Health care Group in Dubai, who collaborate with those at the Calicut hospital.
Thank you, physicians
Ala’s father, Waleed Ali Abdo Ahmed, expressed his gratitude to the doctors at Aster MIMS in the following words to Gulf News: “In the dictionaries of all known languages, we cannot find a fitting phrase to describe our admiration, respect, and love for them. We shall always be grateful to them, especially Dr. Jubin Kumar, Dr. Sajeesh, Dr. Anish, and the Aster team.
