28 year old Girl Suffering from Wilson Disease Successfully Underwent a Liver Transplant

A 28-year-old girl suffering from Wilson’s disease successfully underwent a liver transplant at Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta road. Wilson disease is a rare inherited disorder that causes copper to accumulate in the liver, brain and other vital organs. The team of doctors was led by Dr. Mahesh Gopasetty- Sr. Consultant Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary and Liver Transplant Surgery, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore. The patient came with a complaint of inability to consume food and water. Being specially-abled since birth, the patient was also unable to perform her daily chores. Further, it was diagnosed that she had repeated infections and there was water accumulation in her body. The patient’s condition was deteriorating and there was an urgent need for a liver transplant, so a cadaver liver transplant procedure was followed for her.

“It was a complex case for us as the patient has Wilson disease. It was difficult for us to understand the symptoms, as mostly in such cases, patient with wilson disease also suffer from neurological and psychological disorder. In this case also, the patient had psychological issues since her birth. On diagnosis, we found out that there was copper accumulation in her liver, so we had to perform immediate liver transplant surgery. Post consent from the family, we went ahead with the liver transplant and the patient withstood the procedure well. We hope that with this transplant, she would have a healthy life ahead.”

                  ~ Dr. Mahesh Gopasetty, Sr. Consultant Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary and Liver Transplant Surgery, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore.

According to reports by NCBI, “Approximately Wilson disease affects 1 in 30,000 to 40,000 individuals. Around 15-20 cases are registered annually, out of which two-thirds are a cause of
acute liver failure.”

Ms Hemalatha (name changed), Mother of the patient said, “We are grateful to the doctors, staff and Hospital who guided and treated my daughter well. We are fortunate enough to get
the liver transplant done successfully.

Specialities

Neurology

Urology

Gastroenterology

Orthopaedic

Hematology

Transplant programme