A small bowel transplant using a deceased-donor organ, airlifted from Bengaluru, was performed on a 46-year-old woman at MGM Healthcare in the city.
The patient from Kerala was diagnosed with intestinal ischemia. She had developed partial gangrene in the largest intestine and a complete small intestine gangrene. The infected portions were removed by doctors there. She was further treated for short gut syndrome, a rare malabsorption disorder caused by a lack of functional small intestine. She then came to the city.
According to a press release from MGM Healthcare, a team headed by Anil Vaidya, director and senior consultant, multi-visceral transplant programme, decided to perform a small bowel transplant on her. She was kept nourished by total parenteral nutrition, which supplied the essentials directly into her vein for four months while she was on the waiting list for the transplant. The organ from a deceased donor was airlifted from Bengaluru on April 3, and the transplant was performed.
