Extraordinary moments emerge in tough times, shining like sunshine through clouds. Let's celebrate the remarkable among us—the doctors rising to challenges and patients showing incredible resilience. ARCHANA JYOTI brings these inspiring stories to light, restoring hope and joy
Real stories of those who make a real difference, shine their brightest in the darkest times. In the process, one should also not miss the rainbow: a symbol of hope and a promise of brighter days. Take the case of little Radha's transplant triumph.
Teenager Radha's struggle with liver failure due to Wilson's disease appeared insurmountable. A few years ago, Radha who is now 13 year-old was diagnosed with the rare disease, and ever since then, she has battled with the aberrant accumulation of copper in her organs, particularly her liver. However, under the careful guidance of Dr. Naresh Bansal, Senior Consultant, Institute of Liver Gastroenterology and Pancreatic Biliary Sciences and his team at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, her journey saw moments of despair turn into hope.
When hepatitis A dealt a deadly blow to her already damaged liver, leading to acute on chronic liver failure Radha's illness worsened at an alarming rate. Her jaundice, accompanied by skyrocketing bilirubin levels (44), was a clear sign of failing liver function. The subtle development of hepatic encephalopathy sent her into a state of altered consciousness, making a terrible situation much worse. However, it was the catastrophic upper gastrointestinal Blood vomiting (bleeding) that brought her dangerously close to death and required life support to be administered in the intensive care unit.
The family was advised to consider liver transplant as lifesaving option. Radha's mother became her hope during her lowest point. Radha's severe bleeding event left her in a hepatic coma, raised require for ventilator support. Radha’s heart pressure was also elevated requiring pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Neeraj Agarwal from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to intervene. The PICU team under the guidance of Senior Consultants Pediatrics at the hospital Dr. Anil Sachdeva, Dr. Dhiren Gupta, Dr. Neeraj Gupta, and Dr. Nishant Wadwa fought restlessly to stabilize this 13 year old female child.
The twelve-hour long procedure under Dr. Ushast Dhir, Chairman of liver transplant and hepatibiliary Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital involving the mother as donor, who donated a portion of liver, showed the unshakable resolve of medical science and was a masterwork of accuracy and competence. Radha recovered very well and is now back home. Her incredible recovery stands as a testament to the human spirit's resilience and the miracles modern medicine can achieve. It was more than that, indeed. In a noble gesture, the doctors of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) had raised Rs 20 lakhs from crowdfunding and corporate donations to finance the transplant since the family was unable to pay for it because of their poor economic condition.
Likewise, when a massive adrenal tumor threatened the health of a 59-year-old patient, a surgical team led by Dr. Piyush Varshney, Additional Director of Urology, Fortis Hospital Noida, employed the state-of-the-art da Vinci robotic system to tackle the challenging tumor, measuring 12x11.5x8 cm.
Dr Varshney said, 'The patient showed no symptoms, and his tumor, Adrenal Incidentaloma was detected incidentally during a routine ultrasound. Surgical removal is often necessary when these tumors exceed 4cm in size. These tumors are often highly vascular and pose surgical challenges due to their location near the spleen, pancreas, and kidney.
“The da Vinci system’s precision allowed us to successfully remove the entire tumor within two hours with minimal blood loss, and we discharged the patient on the second postoperative day.”
This groundbreaking procedure not only saved the patient's life but also showcased the potential of cutting-edge medical techniques to overcome daunting challenges.
