Srinagar: In a unique story signifying of the collaborative power of medical expertise, social media and crowdsourcing a ten year old from strife-torn Bandipore district of Kashmir was successfully treated at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi.
Fatimah, suffering from a rare liver disease needing a liver transplant, received support from the hospital and well-wishers on the internet and beyond to make the surgery possible.
The girl was suffering from a rare liver disease which affects about one in two lac people.
She was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis which could have been fatal if not treated timely.
According to Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director & Senior Consultant, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Apollo Hospitals, starting with the first successful liver transplantation in India in 1998, the Apollo Liver Transplant Program has now performed more than 3300 liver transplants including 325 in children.
Dr. Sibal added, “The patient belongs to a disadvantaged family of laborers. She studied in class sixth and was found to have jaundice in school. After evaluation, she was diagnosed with a chronic liver disease that had resulted in liver failure. The patient was admitted to a hospital in Srinagar for four months with prolonged hospitalizations thrice but her condition continued to deteriorate with time. In Autoimmune Hepatitis, which affects only about one in two lac people, the body’s altered immune function causes one’s own antibodies to damage the liver. The body’s immune system instead of attacking viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, attacks the liver leading to chronic inflammation and serious damage to liver cells.”
Dr Neerav Goyal, Senior Consultant, Liver Transplant and Haepatobiliary, Pancreatic Surgery Department further added, “The patient had deep jaundice, fluid has accumulated in her belly and the pressure in the blood vessels supplying the liver was high. Her liver had already shrunken and despite therapy bringing about some improvement, the fluid accumulation in her stomach persisted. She remained chronically ill and a new liver was the only option left to save her life.”
“Considering her critical condition, we decided to perform the liver transplant surgery on her. Patient’s father Syed Hussain, 48 year old, became her liver donor. We performed the 12 hour long surgery and all her liver function tests are normal now. She was discharged on 27 June 2018.
Talking about the causes and symptoms of the disease Dr. Goyal said, “There is no particular reason or cause of this disease that why it happens, but genetic and environmental factors seem to trigger the disease. The signs and symptoms of the disease can range from minor to severe and may come on suddenly. Some of the common symptoms that one may experience are abdominal discomfort, fatigue, yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), an enlarged liver, abnormal blood vessels on the skin (spider angiomas), joint pains and loss of menstruation in women.”
With teary eyes and a smile on his face, Syed Hussain, father of the patient said, “We are very poor and illiterate. We had no money for her transplant surgery. Though, few of the relatives and friends came for our support and raised funds for her surgery through social media but it was sufficient only for our local stay expenses and post-transplant medications. The transplant still couldn’t be afforded by us but all the thanks to Apollo Hospital and doctors here who did not charge a single rupee for this surgery and operated our daughter successfully. Today, our little Fatimah has been blessed with a second life, all because of expert and noble hearted doctors at Apollo Hospital and the support of friends and relatives.”
Fatima said, “I am so happy to have completed 1 year post transplant. I am now full of energy, I attend school regularly and participate in all activities.”
