CARE Performs Landmark Transplant Surgery in Hyderabad

1. CARE Performs Landmark Transplant Surgery in Hyderabad CARE Hospitals Group is a well-known chain of hospitals and is renowned for their cardiology experts and Heart Transplant projects. With more than 18 outlets across various Indian cities, they offer a range of multi-specialty services. Recently, a new team of doctors at CARE have performed a landmark Hepato Biliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation operation. This is a first of its kind in the recent medical history. Damayanti Chandrakar, a 56 year old woman from Raipur, Chhattisgarh had visited a physician with complaints of jaundice, pain in the abdomen and weight loss, over a one-month period. She was immediately referred to Prof Tom Cherianof CARE Hospitals Group for evaluation and management. After admission and assessment, Damayanti was found to be severely hypertensive. She required oral anti-hypertensives for stabilizing her blood pressure. A biochemical investigation showed increased serum bilirubin (a measure of the severity of jaundice). Ultrasound and CT scans of the abdomen showed a malignant tumor in the common hepatic duct, with significant obstruction in the lumen and spreading to the surrounding lymph nodes. Heart Transplant in Hyderabad This news was a deathblow to the patient as cholangiocarcinoma is an aggressive tumor and the average survival rate is around 6 months if untreated. It took almost a week for the patient and her family to make up their mind and give their consent for surgery. The patient’s daughter is a doctor herself. Meanwhile, her total bilirubin had shot up 20 times the normal values. Hence, a pre- operative intervention (PTBD) was performed by an interventional radiologist in the right and left hepatic ductal system. Once the bilirubin dropped in a week’s time, she was taken for surgery. “We performed a 9-hour long operation for excision of the tumor along with the right lobe of the liver and the surrounding lymph nodes, before they joined a part of the intestine to the liver. Intra- operatively, the blood vessels supplying blood to the liver were shaved free of the tumor. An intra- operative frozen section biopsy confirmed that both the cut margins were free of the tumor”, Prof Tom Cherian explained. Damayanti had a relatively uneventful post-op recovery, except for some fluctuation in her blood pressure and a partial lung collapse (mild right pleural effusion), due to build up of fluid in the lungs — a common occurrence in such surgeries. Both the issues were quickly and efficiently managed by a cross-sectional team, comprising a general physician, cardiologist, interventional radiologist and physiotherapist. The final histopathological report confirmed it to be a hilar cholangiocarcinoma with RO resection (no evidence of microscopic disease at the cut margins). The 5-year survival rate of such a case is 45-

2. 50%, but without surgery it is zero, even with chemotherapy. The patient and the relatives were extremely relieved and thanked all the hospital staff profusely for their support and hard work throughout their hospital stay. “We have been renowned for our success with Heart Transplant in Hyderabad. This is a good beginning to the CARE Hospitals’ latest Department of Hepato Biliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation”, their spokesperson commented.