Radha’s journey through illness and recovery is a powerful story about the human spirit’s resilience and the fragility of life. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease, a rare condition where copper builds up in the body, especially in the liver. This build-up can cause severe damage over time. Under the careful guidance of Dr. Naresh Bansal, a Senior Consultant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Radha managed to navigate the complexities of her disease. However, her situation took a turn for the worse when she contracted hepatitis A, which severely affected her already damaged liver, leading to acute-on-chronic liver failure.
Radha’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Her skin turned yellow from jaundice, and her bilirubin levels soared to a dangerous 44. She began to experience hepatic encephalopathy, a condition that affects brain function due to liver failure, causing confusion and altered consciousness. The situation became even more dire when Radha started vomiting blood due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding, which brought her to the brink of death. She was rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) and placed on life support.
Despite the grim circumstances, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) team, led by Dr. Anil Sachdeva, Dr. Dhiren Gupta, Dr. Neeraj Gupta, and Dr. Nishant Wadhwa, fought tirelessly to save Radha’s life. They advised her family to consider a liver transplant as the only viable option to save her. Radha’s mother, driven by her love for her daughter, made the brave decision to donate a part of her liver.
Just as hope was beginning to blossom, Radha’s condition worsened dramatically. She suffered a severe bleeding event that put her into a hepatic coma and required her to be put on a ventilator. Her heart pressure also spiked, necessitating the involvement of Dr. Neeraj Agarwal, a Pediatric Cardiologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Despite these challenges, the medical team remained steadfast, knowing that a liver transplant was her only chance for survival.
The twelve-hour long procedure under Dr. Ushast Dhir, Chairman of Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sir ganga Ram Hospital involving the mother as donor, who donated a portion of liver, showed the unshakable resolve of medical science and was a masterwork of accuracy and competence. Radha opened her eyes on the 2nd day after the liver transplant. Against all odds, the transplant worked and Radha’s frail body was given new life. She recovered very well & now as back home with siblings and getting ready to go back to school after summer vacation.
Dr. Naresh Bansal, Senior Consultant Institute of Liver Gastroenterology & Pancreatic Biliary Sciences, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital mentioned “Wilson Disease is a Genetic Disease, so when this girl came to us 7 years ago, she had a liver problem, swelling in her stomach and swelling in her legs, so when we saw her and investigated, we came to know that there was copper in her body. After that she suddenly got viral hepatitis. Her condition worsened. Everything happened that happens in the last stage of cirrhosis to her. We controlled the bleeding. Tried to bring her back to consciousness by bandaging him and giving him medicine for unconsciousness, but ultimately it got infected and it went on ventilator. We treated infection with antibiotics and later when she reached such a critical situation that we felt she could not survive without a transplant, we handed her over to the transplant team.”
Dr. Ushast Dhir Director of Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery Sir Ganga Ram Hospital mentioned, “It was the toughest case to make it possible for a youngest patient with Wilson disease to get the success of this transplant. It was difficult to council the family briefing the importance of liver transplant which was the only way to save her life.”
As further mentioned by Dr Dhir said, “The child was critical and Living Donor Liver transplant had to be performed in the perfect window. This was made possible by the exemplary hard work and immaculate coordination amongst the multi- disciplinary super speciality teams at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.”
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