Liver Transplant & HPB Surgery

Our team was the first to use the robotic surgical platform for doing liver resections in India, our work is published in indexed surgical journals. We have also been actively using this technology (da Vinci surgical system) for doing hepatobiliary cases including choledochal cyst resection with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy, liver cyst resection, and radical cholecystectomy. The team has experience in treating liver and biliary diseases as enumerated. Our experienced team of liver transplant and HPB surgeons can treat the most complex cases using state-of-the-art equipment at Narayana Health. We strive to provide world-class treatments at affordable prices for patients suffering from liver diseases, cancers, and diseases of the bile duct, gallbladder, and pancreas. This is why we are rated as one of the best liver transplant centers in India.
When Do You Need a Liver Transplant Surgery?
A liver transplant surgery is recommended when the liver gets damaged, and it is beyond the body’s regenerative capacity to repair and heal. It is generally performed when there is liver failure due to tumours, scarring of the tissues within the liver, liver diseases, or general diseases. The reasons for liver transplant surgery vary depending on the age of the patient.
Liver failure may happen quickly or gradually over time. Sudden loss of liver function is called acute liver failure while chronic occurs slowly over months and years. Major causes of damage to the liver may include:
Hepatitis B and C.
Alcoholic liver disease
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver, causing inflammation or damage to the cells within the liver.
Genetic diseases also affect the liver including hemochromatosis, which causes an excessive iron buildup in the liver, and Wilson’s disease, which causes an excessive copper buildup in the liver.
Diseases that affect the bile ducts (the tubes that carry bile away from the liver), such as primary biliary cirrhosis, biliary atresia, etc.
Liver Transplant surgery in Children
Children usually need liver transplant surgery due to a condition known as biliary atresia. The bile ducts that transport the bile juice to the gallbladder and the intestine are underdeveloped in children suffering from this condition. The condition can be corrected with reconstructive surgery in the initial few months after birth. But if the problem persists, the child may require a liver transplant surgery.
Another common ailment that needs a liver transplant in children is a tumour known as hepatoblastoma. It is crucial to choose a liver transplant hospital in India with an experienced team of surgeons to conduct liver transplant and HPB surgery for young children.
Liver Transplant Surgery in Adults
There are many reasons that may necessitate liver transplant surgery in adults. Some of them are:
Hepatitis C virus
Hepatitis B virus
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatitis A or B virus
Damage caused to drug overdose
Liver cirrhosis
Liver Transplant & Hepatobiliary Services at Narayana Health
Orthotopic Liver transplantOrthotopic liver transplantation involves the surgical removal of a patient’s liver and replacing it with a liver harvested from a deceased donor in the same anatomic position as the original organ. During the transplant surgery, the surgeon creates a small incision on the abdomen to remove the damaged liver and replace it with a healthy liver from a donor. The surgeon positions the donor’s liver in the place of the removed liver and connects all the blood vessels and bile ducts. Once the procedure is completed, the incision is closed. The surgeon attaches drainage tubes to drain away excess fluids and transfers the patient to the ICU for further treatment and recovery
Living donor Liver transplantThis surgical procedure involves taking a portion of the liver from a healthy living person and placing it into someone with liver failure.
The doctors first operate on the donor to remove a portion of their liver. The surgeons can remove the right or left side of the liver, depending on the age of the patient. The right lobe or right side of the liver is bigger, and hence, it is recommended for adult patients. As the left lobe is smaller, it is suited for children.
The surgeon makes an incision on the abdomen and removes the damaged liver. Later, the right or left lobe from the donor is placed in the position, and all the blood vessels and bile ducts are connected. The incision is closed now and the patient is shifted to the ICU for recovery and treatment.
The donor can regrow the remaining part of their liver, which can return to its normal size, volume, and capacity within a few months after the surgery. The transplanted liver grows and restores its size and function too.
Split donation Liver transplantDue to the anatomy of the liver, it can’t be split evenly for transplantation. For the split donation liver transplant, the organ is divided into two parts – 35-40% is the left lobe, and 65-70% is the right lobe. Since the split liver halves are smaller than the whole organ, the surgery can benefit smaller patients who weight between 100 and 160 pounds.
To maximise the benefit of each available donor organ, the two parts of the liver can be transplanted to two different patients. This procedure is generally used if there are two patients who require a liver transplant surgery, (one an adult and the other a child). The process of the surgery is the same as the living donor liver transplant. The transplanted liver grows to the normal size through the process of regeneration.