Sri Lanka carries out first pediatric liver transplantation

COLOMBO, July 27 (Xinhua) — A group of Sri Lankan doctors successfully performed the country’s first ever pediatric liver transplant on a 9-year-old girl at the North Colombo Teaching Hospital (NCTH) in Ragama, the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, local media reports said Monday.

The procedure was performed by a group of specialist surgeons from all over the world headed by Professor Rohan Siriwardana.

Deputy Director of the NCTH, Dr. Sarath Premasiri told local journalists that the surgery was performed last week while the hospital had performed about 50 human liver transplants, and this surgery was the first pediatric surgery performed.

Professor Rohan Siriwardana, quoted in the local Daily News said the 9-year-old girl had been detected with cirrhosis of the liver, which needs to be transplanted among children.

The donor was the girl’s mother, and both the mother and child are doing well under a smooth recovery.

Complex operations were carried out on the child and the mother over a period of 12 hours with the help of the expert doctors after which the child was transferred to the ICU. She is now warded at the NCTH and is preparing to go home in a few days, Dr. Siriwardana said.

“The mother has also recovered and is enjoying the company of her daughter who received a new life from her,” the professor said. Enditem