61-year-old undergoes combined liver transplant, bypass surgeries

In a rare case, a 61-year-old patient underwent bypass surgery and also received a liver from a living donor at a private hospital in the city recently. The procedure was successfully done and the patient has recovered well.

The dual surgery spanning over 18 hours had 15 doctors from various disciplines had multiple challenges like heavy blood loss during and after surgery, high risk of heart attack and arrhythmias, besides post-operative management of blood clotting. However, it was not recommended to perform either of the surgeries alone as the risk was very high.

The patient had multiple heart vessel blocks and an end-stage liver disease, which prevented him from having major open-heart surgery.

Dr Kailash A Jain, a senior consultant, said the patient’s medical evaluation showed Triple Vessel Coronary Artery Disease and a Decompensated Liver Disease for which a coronary artery bypass and liver transplant was suggested. “Doing both the surgeries in the same sitting was decided in discussion with the multi-disciplinary team,” he added.