Compassion Beyond Borders Doctors at Fortis Noida, India Give 9 Year old Pakistani boy a Fresh Lease of Life by Performing a Combined Liver and Kidney Transplant

NOIDA, India, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

A well co-ordinated effort between the High Commission of Pakistan, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and doctors at the Fortis Hospital, Noida, India has given a fresh lease of life to a 9-year-old boy Amaar Asif, from Lahore, who was suffering from end-stage kidney and liver disease.

In a gratifying display of compassion, fortitude and medical skill, a battery of 10 surgeons, 6 anaesthetists and 30 nurses, persevered for nearly 10 hours to simultaneously transplant the kidney and liver in the child to save his precious life.

The child was suffering from primary hyperoxaluria (excessive urinary excretion of oxalate) and had to undergo a cleansing process (haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis) prior to the operation, to reduce the oxalate levels in the blood. The surgery was collaboratively performed under the guidance of Dr Vivek Vij, Director GI Surgery and Liver Transplant and Dr. Dushayant Nadar, Senior Consultant-Urology at Fortis Noida.

Dr Vij explained, "Only one in five lakh people are affected by primary hyperoxaluria. This is indeed one of the most challenging cases in transplants as it requires extensive dialysis pre-operatively and then post-operatively. In such an operation, the patient and the two donors are operated in tandem and this needs precision and absolute coordination with no scope for human error."

"The child has been in pain for the last five years. Over time, he has become extremely weak, unable to even do routine activities including playing or going to school. As a result, his education has also been suffering. We are glad that the child will soon be able to go back to his daily activities," said Dr. Dushyant Nadar.

Primary hyperoxaluria is a rare condition characterised by the overproduction of a substance called oxalate (also called oxalic acid). In the kidneys, the excess oxalate combines with calcium to form calcium oxalate, a hard compound that is the main component of kidney stones. Deposits of calcium oxalate can lead to kidney damage, kidney failure, and injury to other organs.

Primary hyperoxaluria is caused by the shortage (deficiency) of a liver enzyme, alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGXT), that prevents the buildup of oxalate in the human body. A simultaneous transplant of both organs is necessary for success as a kidney transplant by itself can fail because of deficient AGXT - produced in the liver.

"We are grateful to the doctors at Fortis who have given a new lease of life to my grandson. Finally, Amaar will be able to play, go to school and lead a normal life", said Mr. Mubarak Haider, Amaar's maternal grandfather.

The kidney was donated to him by his paternal uncle, while the part liver donor was the patient's maternal uncle. Amaar's father is a shop owner and was unable to support his treatment. The operation was particularly difficult because of Amaar's severely compromised immunity status. The treatment of the child has been sponsored by the Government of Pakistan. The funding for this has been channelised through the Pakistan High Commission in India.

After the surgery, the patient was kept under the close observation of specialist paediatric hepatologists, urologists and nephrologists who attended to him for nearly 10 days, nursing him back to health. Amaar is now ready to be discharged and sent home.

Fortis Noida has performed 135 liver and 500 kidney transplants till date.

About Fortis Healthcare Limited

Fortis Healthcare Limited is a leading integrated healthcare delivery service provider in India. The healthcare verticals of the company primarily comprise hospitals, diagnostics and day care speciality facilities. Currently, the company operates its healthcare delivery services in India, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius and Sri Lanka with 66 healthcare facilities (including projects under development), over 10,000 potential beds and approximately 260 diagnostic centres.

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Media Contact : Raghu Kochar, [email protected] , +91-9811617256, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, Fortis Healthcare Limited