China News Service, Guangzhou, November 10 (Cai Minjie and Zhang Yang) The 8-month-old baby girl Tingting (pseudonym) became a "little yellow man" due to congenital biliary atresia. The only way to save her life is to perform a liver transplant.
In order to extend the life of his daughter, his father decided to lose 18 pounds in one month, "cutting the liver to save the girl."
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University announced on the 10th that the hospital's multidisciplinary team has recently completed this case of parent liver transplantation.
Tingting recovered well after the operation and was discharged from the hospital with her parents on the same day.
According to Tingting's father, Tingting was born on February 14 this year. When she was just two months old, she developed yellowing symptoms all over her body and became a "little yellow man."
After going to Guangzhou Children's Hospital, the child was diagnosed with congenital biliary atresia.
"The doctor suggested waiting for the child to be older before doing the liver transplantation. Everyone around us is persuading us to give up, saying that we are still young and we can have another one. But if we have another one, it is no longer her. The child is unique." Ting Dad Ting said.
Liu Chao visits Tingting at the door of the operating room (before the operation) Photo courtesy of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
“We learned from the patient group that Professor Liu Chao, the deputy dean of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, has extensive experience in liver transplantation, so he brought his children to the clinic.” Tingting’s father said, the couple asked Liu Chao’s team for help, hoping to be able to Get a liver transplant for your child as soon as possible.
"When this child was first admitted to the hospital, his skin and sclera were severely yellowed, his breathing was short of breath, his abdomen was noticeably swollen, and the amount of milk he drank dropped from 180 ml to about 80 to 90 ml each time." Liu Chao said that Tingting urgently needed liver transplantation. operation treatment.
The hospital initiated a multidisciplinary discussion on diagnosis and treatment. After PICU, ICU, anesthesiology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric liver disease, pediatric nutrition, imaging, psychology, and nursing team, Liu Chao told Tingting’s parents that the biological liver Transplantation is the best choice for treating children.
Can't wait for the volunteers to donate a suitable liver source. In order to replace the liver as soon as possible to extend the life of the child, Tingting's father chose to "cut the liver to save the girl."
Fortunately, the matching types of father and daughter are the same. However, another problem arises: Tingting's father needs to lose weight as soon as possible so that the liver can meet the transplantation standards.
"I run every day, control my appetite, and lose 18 pounds a month." In order to make his liver meet the standards for transplantation, Tingting's father actively exercises every day. Back to the child, I am willing to give everything I have."
On the morning of October 14, the parental liver transplantation officially started.
The doctor first cut the left lateral lobe from Tingting’s father’s liver. At the same time, another group of doctors completely removed Tingting’s diseased liver and kept important channels. After that, the left lateral lobe donated by the father was implanted into the baby’s body. After confirming that the blood vessels are unobstructed, the operation ends.
"Tingting is only 8 months old, and the blood vessels are very thin, especially the diameter of the arteries is only 1 to 2 millimeters. It is difficult to vascular anastomosis. The surgeon has very high technical requirements and requires the help of a surgical operating microscope to complete it." Liu Chao introduced , The thread used to sew Tingting's blood vessels is almost invisible to the naked eye.
In addition, Tingting also has heart problems. Atrial septal defect is 9 mm. Heart failure occurred before the operation, which also made the operation "more difficult".
The anesthesiology department through preoperative discussion, fine management during the operation, and the presence of pediatric cardiologists to help Tingting through the dangerous period smoothly.
After 11 hours, the parental liver transplantation was completed.
Tingting was transferred to the ICU after the operation and was taken care of by PICU and ICU medical staff.
Two weeks after the operation, Tingting was transferred from the ICU to the general ward.
Now, Tingting's skin is no longer yellow, and her appetite is much better than before. She can drink 150ml of milk in one meal.
It is understood that more than 80% of children's liver transplants in China have congenital biliary atresia as the primary disease.
There are more than 4,000 new cases of biliary atresia in my country every year, but only a small number of children can receive liver transplantation.
According to Mai Yougang, director of the Department of Pediatric Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, congenital biliary atresia accounts for more than half of the cases of neonatal long-term obstructive jaundice.
This disease is very dangerous and progresses very quickly. The bile ducts inside and outside the liver are blocked, which can cause irreversible cholestatic cirrhosis.
The survival rate of parent liver transplantation is very high. The survival rates of 1 year, 5 years and 10 years can reach 95%, 93% and 91% respectively.
The longest surviving patient has survived for more than 50 years, married and had children.
Compared with adult liver transplantation, children's liver transplantation or transplantation of other organs is more challenging.
Liu Chao introduced that the parent liver transplantation for Tingting was the first parent liver transplantation carried out after the hospital was re-qualified for liver transplantation in 2019. There are already many cases of children waiting for liver transplantation.
(over)