Liver transplant for 8-month-old patient from brain-dead person: Vietnamese medical miracle

Liver transplant for 8-month-old patient from brain-dead person: Vietnamese medical miracle ( Video : Vinmec).

Not only is this the lightest liver transplant on a child ever performed at Vinmec, it is also one of the rare liver transplants on a young and light-weight patient in Vietnam, bringing hope to many children with serious liver diseases.

Baby NLT was born healthy, but after only a few days, unusual signs appeared on his small body. The baby's mother said that when her baby was only 10 days old, she discovered small bleeding spots on his skin. She took him to the doctor and found that his liver enzymes were high.

At that time, the doctor advised me to go home and monitor further. But when I got home, my skin became more and more yellow, my eyes were also yellow, my urine was dark, my stool was pale, and my belly was abnormally distended.

In the following days, the baby's mother went to all the major hospitals, from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, the National Children's Hospital... and received a chilling diagnosis: the baby had congenital biliary atresia.

"At that time, I didn't understand clearly, I just thought that congenital heart disease could be cured, so this disease must not be too serious. But when I went to the hospital and saw the children with distended bellies and dark yellow skin, I realized how serious my child's illness was," she said.

Discovering that her child had a rare, very dangerous and extremely difficult to cure disease, the mother gritted her teeth and kept quiet without telling anyone.

"Everyone asked about my child's illness, but I kept it a secret until my child had surgery. When I visited my child and saw that his friends in the same department had very severe symptoms, everyone knew that this disease was dangerous. At that time, whenever someone asked me about my child's illness, I cried even more," the mother recalled with tears in her eyes.

Baby T. was quickly scheduled for Kasai surgery - a method of connecting the extrahepatic bile duct to the intestine - when he was only 1.5 months old. However, that faint hope quickly faded.

The illness did not improve, the skin was still yellow, the liver was still enlarged, the abdomen was distended, the baby was constantly crying, the enlarged spleen compressed the diaphragm, making it difficult for the baby to breathe. The family continuously went to the hospital, on average 1-2 times/week, the hospital gradually became the second home for the mother and child.

The peak of despair was when the tests from her father, mother, grandparents were all unsuitable for liver donation. The young mother almost collapsed, at times thinking "mother and child should go to a far away place, free each other so that the child does not have to suffer anymore".

But when all doors were closing, good news suddenly came: There was a suitable liver part from a brain-dead patient at Bach Mai Hospital with the same blood type as baby T.

A glimmer of hope, life will be delivered.

Immediately, Vinmec's "Red Alert" system was activated. The Liver Transplantation Council was urgently convened, including the departments of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Anesthesia, Emergency Resuscitation, Pediatrics, Diagnostic Imaging, Testing, Pharmacy, etc., chaired by People's Physician, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Duc Huan - Director of the Center for Digestive - Hepatobiliary - Urology, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital.

The Liver Transplant Expert Council consulted and concluded that the patient had end-stage cirrhosis due to congenital biliary atresia.

They agreed: A liver transplant was the only way to save the baby's life.

However, the patient weighed only 6.5 kg and the child's long medical history posed major challenges in terms of anesthesia, resuscitation, and especially transplantation techniques.

All have been discussed in detail by Vinmec's medical team and solutions have been proposed to ensure the safety of the children.

The surgery was performed after only 4 hours of preparation - a record time. Recalling the surgery, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Van Thanh, who played the role of commander in chief of the transplant, said: "The surgery lasted more than 10 hours, each step was carried out and coordinated precisely down to the minute. We worked under the highest pressure, because we understood that every second, every minute that passed was a threat to the child's life."

Weighing only 6.5kg, the blood vessels in the baby's body are only 3-4mm, about one-third as small as those of an adult. Not only that, the baby also has two serious vascular abnormalities: portal vein atrophy, inferior vena cava atrophy behind the liver - huge challenges that require reshaping the entire vascular system.

"This is the most difficult transplant we have ever performed, because the patient is young, underweight, has many anatomical abnormalities, and also has to overcome a blood clotting disorder. Any small mistake can lead to disaster," said Dr. Dao Duc Dung, one of the main surgeons of the surgical team.

Right after the surgery ended, the anesthesia stopped, the baby's cry echoed from the operating room. It was not just the cry of a baby, but the joy of the entire medical team and family, the resounding cry of revival, the living proof of a medical miracle.

The baby's mother choked up: "She stood there, tears falling. It was a cry of rebirth after 8 months of fighting the disease."

"Up to this point, I still think everything is like a dream. I can't believe that my child has had a liver transplant. When I visit him every day, I see that his skin is rosier, before that his skin was very yellow, everyone in the family is happy, updating him on his condition every day and every hour," the happy mother recounted.

Not stopping at a technical miracle, the success of the transplant also lies in the smooth and close coordination between Vinmec and outside units.

The liver from the brain-dead donor was divided, transported, preserved and transplanted during the "golden" period, under the direction of the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center.

This is a split liver transplant, in which the left lobe of the liver is transplanted to baby T., while the right lobe of the liver is used for an adult patient at another facility.

Established in 2012, Vinmec has become the largest private healthcare system in Vietnam, with 9 hospitals, 4 international clinics, including 2 hospitals meeting JCI (USA) standards.

Implementing liver transplantation since 2017, Vinmec has now completely mastered liver transplantation techniques, successfully performing highly challenging transplants, such as: Transplantation for patients with fulminant liver failure on the basis of chronic liver disease, third liver transplant, liver transplant for children under 10kg, patients with incompatible blood types and especially cases with anatomical changes in the blood vessels and bile ducts of the liver, or anatomical changes in liver donors.

To date, Vinmec is the only private hospital in Vietnam performing liver transplants from living donors and ranks second in the country in the number of liver transplants from living donors.

With an academic medical orientation, Vinmec has invested in the most modern equipment and operating rooms, along with a team of leading experts, on par with major organ transplant centers. It can be said that Vinmec is completely ready to perform the most complicated liver transplants.

MSc. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang - Professional Director of Vinmec Times City Hospital said: "To perform pediatric organ transplants - and further heart and lung transplants - the medical team needs to be well-trained, have in-depth clinical practice and coordinate effectively in a multidisciplinary model.

Vinmec is currently focusing on technology transfer cooperation with major transplant centers in the US, Korea, and Japan. In addition, we continue to closely coordinate with the National Organ Coordination Center, and cooperate extensively with domestic organ transplant centers: Bach Mai, Viet Duc, 108, and the National Children's Hospital, building waiting lists for transplants that match donated organs that can be transplanted immediately when needed."

Baby T's transplant once again affirms Vinmec as one of the leading liver transplant centers in terms of professional capacity and modern equipment. This success also emphasizes the noble humanitarian message of organ donation: an act of saving many lives, bringing hope to patients on the brink of despair.

T.'s mother emotionally shared: "Before the surgery, I saw my child smile a lot, I have never seen him so happy. I think, he also felt that he was about to have a chance to live." Now, every day that passes, she bursts into joy when she sees her child's skin turn rosy again, clear laughter ringing out instead of the painful cries of the past.

Experts emphasize that the survival rate after liver transplant in children today has increased dramatically thanks to medical advances, new generation immunosuppressants and quality post-transplant care. Hundreds of children who once faced a "death sentence" can now go to school, play, study and nurture their dreams like any other child.

For T.'s mother, the future is now simple but warm: "I just hope my child is healthy and becomes a useful person to society, so as not to let down the doctors, philanthropists, and organ donors who saved my child's life."

The success of the liver transplant at Vinmec is not only a technical step forward, but also a victory of resilience, maternal love, the dedication of the medical team, and the kindness of the organ donor.

This success is also a humane story about the meaning of organ donation, so that each person knows that their meaningful actions can save small lives, bringing happiness to many families.

During the conversation with the reporter, T.'s mother repeated: "There were times when I was exhausted and just wanted to give up. But looking at my tiny child, fighting bravely through the major surgery, I told myself: If my child can endure it, I must try too."

It is not only the will of a mother, but also the power of hope, of love and of the miracle called "organ donation".

The miraculous journey of baby T. has ended with a happy ending, but at the same time opened a great message: organ donation is not only giving life, but also giving hope, so that Vietnamese medicine can grow higher and further, on par with the world .

Content: Bao Khanh

Design: Khuong Hien

05/12/2025 - 07:46

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/ghep-gan-cho-benh-nhi-8-thang-tuoi-tu-nguoi-chet-nao-ky-tich-y-hoc-viet-20250510173721969.htm