BSMMU first public hospital to transplant liver
Doctors of BSMMU’s Department of Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic and Liver Transplantation Surgery performed the surgery on Monday
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical University (BSMMU) has successfully conducted a liver transplant surgery – first in a public hospital in Bangladesh.
Doctors of BSMMU’s Department of Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic and Liver Transplantation Surgery performed the surgery on Monday.
The surgery was performed on a 20-year-old man, without any charge, as his mother donated a portion of her liver to him, said Professor Dr Zulfiqar Rahman Khan, head of the Liver Transplantation Surgery unit, during a press briefing at BSMMU on Tuesday.
The man was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in 2017, said Dr Zulfiqar.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque was present at the briefing and termed the surgery a major breakthrough in the public healthcare sector of Bangladesh.
The operation started at 6am and continued until midnight, said Zulfiqar. The patient needed 20 bags of blood during the surgery.
A 50-member medical team became part of the successful surgery. Dr P Balachandra Menon – India’s renowned liver transplant surgeon – and his team also facilitated the surgery.
Four other liver transplant surgeries were performed in private hospitals in Bangladesh previously.