R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, FEB 25
Fortis Healthcare on Friday announced that it has now brought a dedicated state-of-the-art ‘Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary and Liver transplant centre’ at its Vadapalani centre here on Friday.
The center was inaugurated by Dr Vivek Vij, Chairman, Advanced Surgical GI, HPB and Liver Transplant, Fortis Hospital in the presence of Dr Sanjay Pandey, Zonal Director & Head SBU, Fortis Hospital, Vadapalani and Dr Puneet Dargan.
The dedicated centre will provide comprehensive, holistic liver care to patients and equipped with advanced technology has 24×7 accessibility to expert doctors. The centre will be headed by Dr Vivek Vij and his team of experts
- Liver transplantation surgery is covered under the Chief Ministers’ Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme in Tamilnadu and the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh
Dr Vivek Vij said, “Liver is the second most transplanted organ worldwide, and in India Liver transplantation has grown exponentially in the last decade with over 1,500-2,000 transplants performed every year, 10% of which are pediatric. India is now an important regional liver transplant hub in South and South-East Asia. However, there is a shortage of organs available. Over 25 thousand people are waiting for a healthy liver but only a few thousands are lucky to receive a compatible organ. It is imperative that we develop awareness amongst people on how they can donate their organs as we need more donors to come forward. Although most transplants involve the whole organ, but segmental transplants are being performed with increasing frequency. In India more than 80% of transplants are from living donors using only 50% of their healthy liver.”
‘‘Young donors of liver need not worry about the operation scar, as Fortis is expertise in scar-less keyhole surgery to extract liver and by the same way it can be transplanted on the recipients. Apart from this, these surgeries are covered under the Chief Ministers’ Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) in Tamilnadu and the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh,’’ Dr Vivek Vij added.
Dr Sanjay Pandey, Zonal Director and Head SBU, Fortis Hospital, Vadapalani said, “Our centre has a legacy of delivering best patient care and has met the healthcare needs of Chennai since its launch. The launch of liver transplant department is a continuation of our efforts to provide affordable, easily accessible and high-quality care for liver patients. The cost of around Rs 17 to Rs 18 lakhs could be availed from the CMCHIS.”
He added further that “Fortis is known for its advanced liver transplant facilities across India. We have successfully performed 5000 liver transplants with least biliary and vascular complication rate. The centre will be headed by Dr Vivek Vij, a renowned liver transplant surgeon in South Asia. He is credited with a cumulative experience of performing over 2500 liver transplants with a record of treating 97 % patients and 100 % donor success rate with world’s lowest Biliary Complication rate (<4%) in living donors. We are confident that Dr Vivek Vij and his team of experts along with Fortis Hospital’s modern, new state-of-the-art infrastructure will serve the need of the liver patients.”