Chennai, Tamil Nadu -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/20/2010 -- In less than two years since inception, the team at the Apollo Centre for Liver Disease and Transplantation completed 50 Liver Transplantations, marking a noteworthy first-of-its-kind milestone in the city of Chennai. Dr. Anand Khakhar and his highly skilled team have changed the face of liver transplantation in southern India.
Addressing the media, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “With over 400 Liver Transplants performed with a success rate of over 90%, Apollo Hospitals has the leading Liver Transplantation Program in India. We now have established programs at Apollo Chennai and Delhi. Similar transplant programs are being initiated in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad and Kolkata and they will be managed by our established programs as hubs.
Elaborating on the Organ Transplant Program, Dr. Prathap Reddy added, “A first-of-its-kind Comprehensive Organ Transplant program at Chennai is being established to provide pancreas transplantation, multi-visceral transplantation, islet cell transplantation and a specialized centre dedicated for paediatric organ transplantation. A tie-up up has been established with the University of Pittsburgh, USA for knowledge & information sharing. A commendable aspect is that the Apollo Hospitals Chennai has the biggest cadaver program for liver in India.
Addressing the media, Dr. Anand Khakhar, Senior Consultant Liver Transplant & Hepatobiliary Surgery and Program Director for the Liver Transplant Program at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai said, “Awareness of liver ailments is extremely low. In Chennai itself, there would be an estimated 25,000 people in need of Liver Transplants and they would be unaware of the same. The Apollo Liver Transplant Program at Chennai is a complete transplant program with facilities and abilities to undertake cadaveric whole organ, cadaveric split liver as well as living related liver transplants for all age groups from small children to elderly individuals. We have demonstrated successful liver transplants which have been performed under planned and urgent conditions, yet the outcomes have always matched global benchmarks.
Liver failure is a potentially fatal condition in which the liver progressively stops performing its function resulting in episodes of jaundice, accumulation of fluid in the body, blood vomiting and confusion. Conditions such as Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C infection, excess alcohol consumption, diseases such as Primary Biliary Cirrhosis and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis can cause this state.
Elaborating on the Apollo Liver Clinics, Dr. Anand Ramamurthy, Consultant, Centre for Liver Disease and Transplantation at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai said, “The Apollo Liver Clinics offer a 360 degree approach to managing all Liver ailments which is the Apollo Advantage. Through the ‘Apollo Liver Clinics’ we offer a one-stop solution for patients with liver diseases. The patients are simultaneously seen by the team of dedicated liver specialists involving hepatology, liver surgery, interventional radiology and various therapists to appropriately provide multidisciplinary care tailored to the cause and stage of the patients’ liver disease.
Several new initiatives by the Tamil-Nadu State Government and Apollo Hospitals have helped increase the rate of cadaver organ donation. With increasing awareness that organ donation provides a new lease of life to a patient, the cadavers have been coming in from various districts of Tamil-Nadu.