The first successful cadaver liver transplant of year 2013 was performed by senior consultant transplant surgeon and a specialist in liver, kidney and pancreas transplant Dr. Rakesh Rai at Fortis Hospital on Nivrutti Shinde, a 68- year-old who was suffering from advanced liver cirrhosis. Shinde, a retired principal, was diagnosed to have cirrhosis few months ago when he was investigated for a swollen limb. Further investigations revealed that his liver had shrunk and had developed portal hypertension. He was listed for cadaver liver transplantation at Fortis Hospital, Mulund on December 27, 2012 and on January 6, 2013, a patient in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital was declared brain death following a severe head injury in a road accident and his family decided to donate his organs.
Dr. Rai said, “The cirrhotic liver of the patient had to be taken out and this procedure is a very complex and challenging procedure as, because of cirrhosis, the blood does not clot easily and the blood vessels in the abdomen get abnormally dilated. The meticulous dissection as well as continuous monitoring and correction of bleeding tendency led to removal of cirrhotic liver without significant blood loss. Then we implanted the harvested liver in the place of the cirrhotic liver. After the entire procedure was completed after six hours, the new liver immediately started working and producing bile.”