CHITWAN, JULY 15

A 47-year-old man successfully underwent a liver transplant at Chitwan Medical College.

"It took eight hours to conduct the transplant on Bharat Bikram Shahi of Kushe Rural Municipality in Jajarkot district," said executive director of the CMC Pratap Devkota at a press conference here today.

The transplant was done by a team of doctors, including specialist surgeon Dr Sanjaya Kumar Yadav, Dr Ekananda Singh, Dr Jayanta Kumar Shah, Dr Sagar Poudel, Dr Barun Shrestha, Dr Kiran Adhikari, Dr Nabin Yadav, Dr Suresh Gautam, Dr Birendra Raut, Dr Dipak Adhikari and Dr Subas Ojha. A team of specialist surgeons from Apollo Hospital in India was also involved in the transplant.

"The patient was suffering from cirrhosis, a late-stage liver disease," said director Devkota.

Kamala Devi, Shahi's wife, donated 60 per cent of her liver to her husband. "It was difficult for Shahi to survive if the transplant was not conducted as he had reached the late stage of liver disease," said Dr Yadav.

Before Shahi was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago, he received treatment at various hospitals in Kathmandu, but to no avail. "His liver was damaged due to excessive alcohol consumption.

He had also suffered from hepatitis B, And his stomach was filled with excessive fluids," he said.

"Donor Kamala Devi was discharged from the hospital on July 11 following improvement in her health," he said, adding that both of them were recovering.

"Shahi will be discharged next week if his recovery continues at this rate. Both of them will get their liver grown by 90 to 95 per cent in two or three months. And thereafter, both of them can lead a normal life," he said.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 16 2021, of The Himalayan Times.