The liver is a vital organ responsible for more than 500 body functions such as metabolism and detoxification, immune function, coagulation. Any cause that will develop in the liver and prevent the liver from performing its functions is life-threatening. When the liver is not working properly, liver transplantation is recommended as the only option. Many patients pass away within a short time if the transplant surgery is not performed as soon as possible. However, patients are racing against time and waiting for organ donation from a cadaver. In this case, patients hover between life and death due to insufficient donation.
Chronic Liver Failure in which the liver is unable to carry out its natural functions, drug overdosage or mushroom poisoning, some progressive liver diseases that cause acute failure and primary liver tumors are all cases in which the only option for survival is a liver transplant.
Click the link to watch the story of Abdussalam Rifai, a patient with cirrhosis who came from Lebanon to undergo a liver transplant surgery in Acıbadem Hospital:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKy3ynqwgRE
Presently liver transplants can be done on children and even on babies when necessary. If a child needs a liver transplant, the procedure should be performed only in experienced medical facilities. When a child is transplanted, the liver’s size needs to be reduced to comply with the little body, as the donors are usually adults. It means that the medical team has to protect both the anatomic and physiologic features. Therefore, transplants for pediatric patients require a particular level of experience. ACIBADEM Liver Transplant Center performs transplants for pediatric patients routinely.
Baby Ahmad, who was suffering from cirrhosis due to being born with underdeveloped bile ducts, got another chance for life with a surgical operation which was performed when he was only six months-old. Professor Remzi Emiroğlu, the director of the Liver Transplantation Center in Acıbadem Atakent Hospital, said that Libyan Bebek Ahmed's condition was not good when he was brought to Acıbadem Atakent Hospital. It was necessary to bring him to a good level of nutrition and to restore the missing electrolytes and blood clotting substances in his blood. After three weeks of treatment, the baby's condition improved. He was operated. A 210-gram liver section removed from Ahmad’s father was transplanted in the baby in an operation that lasted over 8 hours. The surgical team prepared bile ducts from the small intestine and connected these to the liver.
Liver transplants require high-end expertise and competent medical care throughout the process, from preoperative evaluation to intensive care and postoperative follow-up. At ACIBADEM, all patients are addressed with a multidisciplinary approach. The liver transplantation teams consist of specialists in surgery, gastroenterology, radiology, intensive care, all of them highly skilled in complex and advanced procedures.
Since even a very small part of the donor’s liver is sufficient for the baby, the small size of liver in infants increase the chance of transplant significantly along with the developments in surgical techniques and medical care.
Timing Is Very Important For Children
Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology Vildan Ertekin clarified that most of the children need liver transplant surgery due to biliary atresia, called congenital absence of bile duct.
Emphasizing that Wilson’s disease and glycogen storage diseases – both caused by metabolic conditions – as well as other rare metabolic diseases are more common due to consanguineous marriages, Prof. Ertekin says “Many factors ranging from cystic fibrosis, drug-induced toxic factors and mushroom poisoning to yellow phosphorus poisoning and tumors may require liver transplant for children.” Adding that growth retardation and irreversible problems may develop in children if a liver transplant surgery is not performed promptly in case of liver failure, Prof. Vildan Ertekin says “Even worse, 90% of these children may pass away within several months. When the liver transplant is performed timely, children can recover quickly, continue schooling and marry and have children in their future life.”
Ayham Halil, 13 years old Jordanian child, traveled from Jordan to Turkey for the treatment of renal failure. When he was examined, it was revealed out that Ayham required both kidney and liver transplants.
“We performed 4 different operations sequentially in the same session; we excised the left lobe of his father’s liver, while blood vessels and bile ducts are not damaged in order to ensure transfer of the liver graft to the patient, and next, the right lobe of liver is left in father’s body, while all vessels and the anatomy are conserved again. First, we transferred the liver without any problem. Next, we performed the kidney transplant surgery” says Prof. Hamdi Karakayalı, M.D.
Most experienced and highly qualified experts at ACIBADEM
Combined liver-kidney transplants are carried out successfully as well, especially in children with metabolic diseases. This kind of surgery would not be possible without the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units, where the little patients are monitored in a special environment after the surgeries.
Prof. Remzi Emiroğlu, M.D., specified that comparing to European countries, far more kidney and liver transplant surgeries are carried out in Turkey and living donor transplants account for 85% of all transplant cases. He added that patients are assessed by a multidisciplinary team and patients are followed up for a long period after the transplant surgeries.
Some of the most experienced and highly qualified liver transplant experts in Turkey and abroad work at ACIBADEM. Their team spirit and multidisciplinary approach, supported by the latest technology available worldwide, are the main drivers for the successful results ACIBADEM can be proud of: 1000 liver transplants in 9 years, with graft survival and patient survival rates above the world’s averages.
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