Testimonials

I was taken for Liver Transplant surgery on February 19th of 2007. This surgery normally would have taken 10-12 hours but I had lots of complications, because of my previous surgery. There were lots of adhesions and my surgery took almost 23 hours. I was given 60 units of blood and blood components. I was taken in at 6 am and brought out at 5 am the next day. The explanted Liver Biopsy showed two tumours of Hepatoma besides the Cirrhosis of Liver. During my post op recovery, I had decided, I will surely walk out of this place hale and hearty. With that spirit and strong will, I started mobilising myself. Unfortunately on the 6th or 7th day there was a biliary leak because of the transplant. Almost 1.5-2 litres of bile collected in the abdomen, doctors had to put a drain and remove it every day. Then on the 9th day I was told they would have to re-operate. That was the only day I felt low, I felt that God was testing me. I talked to my wife and she said 'We have to do it, we have total faith that everything will be fine as the finest doctors are with us'. That surgery lasted for 6-7 hours and I was in the hospital for 40 days. Added to this my strong will to survive and my zest for life were also factors which helped pull me through. There was an excellent team of doctors headed by Dr Subash Gupta. Their expertise and caring attitude is something I owe my life to.

Sanjay from Kancheepuram, was born with Biliary Atresia, a serious but a rare disease of the liver that affects newborn infants. In his case, the loss of bile ducts caused the bile to remain in the liver. At 62 days of life, Sanjay underwent a Kasai Procedure to correct the illness but the jaundiced condition remained. The bile in his body was building and damaging Sanjay's liver everyday leading to liver cirrhosis thereby making a liver transplant necessary in the initial years of his life.
Since the time Sanjay was born, he suffered from symptoms of jaundice - yellow eyes, darkening of urine, clay-like stools etc; these symptoms warned the family of a graver condition and they rushed him to Madras Child Hospital where they recommended a liver transplant operation as the only lasting solution for the condition. In 1998, the year of Sanjay's birth, transplantation of solid human organs was undoubtedly one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of the century. The disturbed family decided to bring Sanjay to Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi after hearing about its one of a kind transplant program and he was taken care of under Dr Anupam Sibal, Senior Consultant Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the hospital.
Sanjay's father came forward to donate a part of his liver (30%) to give his son a new lease of life. However, Sanjay's treatment was long and arduous; it involved three major surgical procedures which included the transplantation itself, apart from ventilatory support and heavy medications. But with the help of a dedicated team of surgeons, physicians, intensivists, trained nurses and support staff, one and half year old Sanjay and the hospital created history by performing the first successful liver transplant in the country on 15 November 1998.
On 1st March 1999, nearly three months after he was first admitted in the hospital, Sanjay was discharged after a successful liver transplant that saved his life. 12 years down the line, Sanjay is now leading a completely normal life, goes to school like other kids, enjoys meals, plays football and more importantly aspires to become a doctor to save lives of many more in this country. Sanjay's story is unique and important as he stands testament to the life altering potential of transplantation and to the pioneering nature of the program at the Apollo Hospitals Group.