Doctors at KIMS Icon Hospital in Visakhapatnam achieved a rare feat in medical history by performing two organ transplants on the same person within hours.
A team of doctors transplanted a kidney and liver on a 50-year-old man.
The doctors gave a fresh lease of life to 50-year-old Kanaka Apparao, a resident of the city and a photographer by profession, the hospital said in a statement.
A fortnight after the twin transplant on 2 November, Apparao is back to near-normal after his discharge from the hospital.
Explaining the problems while performing the twin surgery, KIMS Icon medical gastroenterologist Dr Chalapathy Rao Achanta said in a statement that there were innumerable problems as “the patient’s liver was badly damaged because of blood-related issues caused by a severe spread of the hepatitis-C virus. Adding to the problem, due to diabetes, his kidneys were also completely damaged.”
“With his life in danger, we had to find a donor on a priority basis. Fortunately for Apparao, we could get a kidney and a liver from a 70-year-old female donor,” said nephrologist Dr RK Mahesh of the hospital in a statement.
“They were transplanted the same day. It was providence that we could find an organ donor for the surgeries, which were his only survival hopes. Performing it at the most appropriate time saved the patient’s life,” they said.
This rare surgery was performed on 2 November. “Following the successful surgeries, the patient recovered fast and went home 10-days after the operation. His liver and kidney are functioning normally now,” the doctors said.
