The Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC) has raised hope for treating more Filipino children with liver disease after its doctors took part in a successful liver transplant surgery by counterparts from the Renji Hospital in Shanghai, China last 11 February that saved the life of a baby suffering from biliary artesia.
The young patient was diagnosed with the rare liver disease that blocks the bile ducts, potentially leading to liver damage if left untreated. The child’s father served as the liver donor and the two started recovery after the free laparoscopic operation performed by Dr. Xia Qiang, resident of Renji Hospital.
Under the minimally invasive surgery, portions of the living donor’s liver are transplanted to the recipient child. The transplanted liver will regenerate over time.
CGHMC and sponsor Mindray covered the entire cost of the medical procedure.
“Liver transplantation is the standard treatment and a life-saving operation for children with liver disease. This milestone pediatric liver transplant opens doors for more accessible and affordable transplantation in our country,” Kelly Sia, president and CEO of CGHMC, said in a media briefing on the surgery at the hospital on 12 March.
The participation of the CGHMC doctors in the operation is part of the memorandum of agreement signed by the two hospitals last year in which the former will train at the Renji Hospital to enhance their expertise on liver transplantation. The same doctors provided post-surgery management of the patient in the Philippines.
The first batch of Filipino doctors is now gaining expertise, setting the foundation for future transplant procedures in the Philippines, read a post on the Facebook page of CGHMC.
During the media briefing, Department of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa praised the successful operation made possible through international collaboration and medical cooperation.
“Liver transplantation remains the definitive treatment for end-stage liver disease. However, in the Philippines, this procedure has been relatively scarce,” Herbosa said, according to the website of CGHMC.
He revealed that from 1998 to 2019, only 59 liver transplants were performed in the country, with a survival rate of approximately 56 percent.