R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, JAN 6
City-based Rela Hospital, a multi-speciality, quaternary care hospital, has entered in to the ‘Asia Book of Records’ for having successfully performed a small intestine transplant surgery on a 4-year-old boy from Bangalore, said to be the youngest in Asia to have undergone this rare surgery.
This rare procedure was recognised by The Asian Book of Records as Asia’s Youngest Small Intestine Transplant Surgery, the certificate of Asia Book of Records was handed over to Prof Mohamed Rela, Chairman and Managing Director, Rela Hospital on Monday (Jan 3, 2022) by Vivek, a representative of Asia Book of Records in the presence of Ma Subramaniam, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Tamil Nadu and Dr J Radhakrishnan, IAS, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare.
A healthy and active child, Master Guhan developed sudden and erratic vomiting for 2 days during June last year, this got his father Swaminathan worried and rushed him to the neighbourhood hospital thinking it could be a routine stomach infection. To their surprise, the doctors told them that he has a rare condition called volvulus, a rare complication, in which intestine loop twists resulting in cutting off the blood supply to that intestinal loop. An emergency surgery had to be performed, which revealed to the surgeons that the intestinal loop has been completely necrosed (non-viable) and had to be removed, this meant that stomach was attached to skin (stoma). Small intestine, the lower part of the digestive system, is to absorb most of the nutrients from the food. With no small intestine, whatever master Guhan eats, will not be digested and just come out of the stoma. Any food taken via mouth will increase gastric secretions, resulting in dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. He was totally dependent on intravenous nutrition and he was connected to infusion pump 24 hours a day to deliver the required nutrients to his body.
The child Guhan, up until then, was hooked onto an infusion pump for ‘intravenous feeding’ was referred to Rela Hospital. Following medical evaluation of Guhan, the family was informed that an intestinal transplantation is the only solution ahead of them.
The child Guhan’s father Swaminathan came forward to donate a part of his small intestine. The clinical team headed by Prof Mohamed Rela successfully performed this 7-hour long complex transplant surgery on September 13, 2021, during which 150-cm of the father’s small intestine was transplanted to the child Guhan.
After months of total dependency on intravenous nutrition, including 5 weeks on this external feeding post-surgery, Master Guhan has fully recovered. With his small intestine functioning perfectly well, he is now free to have any kind of food like other children of his age. The live donor Swaminathan has also resumed his day-to-day life, a healthy life.
Commenting on the procedure, Prof. Mohamed Rela, said, “I feel extremely happy when I see the child leading a normal life, freed forever from the infusion machine. He was totally dependent on it for several weeks, ever since his small intestine was removed. Transplanting a healthy small intestine was the only permanent cure, we managed to successfully perform the intestinal transplantation.”
“Thanks to the doctors at Rela hospital for their constant reassurance and educating us on every and every step, that made us very comfortable and feel at ease. We will be forever thankful to Rela sir and hospital for giving our baby a second chance at life. We now have so many new years to look forward to together as a family,” said Swaminathan, father.
