First successful liver transplant at Nepal Mediciti

Nepal Health News, Kathmandu: Nepal Mediciti Hospital has successfully performed its first-ever liver transplant in its history. The transplant was carried out on Jestha 8 (May 21), on 56-year-old Ishwar Bahadur Karki, a resident of Pokhara. His 26-year-old son, Ayush Karki, donated a portion of his liver for the procedure.

Liver transplantation is considered one of the most complex medical procedures globally, requiring a large multidisciplinary team of experts. In this surgery, the donor’s operation took nearly 9 hours, while the recipient’s surgery lasted 13 hours. The transplant was performed under the leadership of doctors from Nepal Mediciti, in collaboration with the renowned Amrita Hospital in India.

Liver donor Ayush Karki said, “We had gone to India twice, but we were not satisfied with the doctors’ advice. After learning that world-class services are available here in Nepal, we consulted at Mediciti and decided to go ahead with the transplant here.”

According to Dr. Upendra Mahato, Chairman of Nepal Mediciti Hospital, the transplant was made possible due to the skilled and dedicated multidisciplinary team at the hospital. “When we established the hospital, our goal was to ensure that Nepali citizens wouldn't need to go abroad for advanced treatment,” he said.

Dr. Umid Kumar Shrestha, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy, stated that Ishwar Bahadur Karki’s condition was extremely critical. “He had symptoms like fluid accumulation in the abdomen, loss of consciousness, and vomiting blood. His kidneys were also damaged. Even when foreign hospitals refused to perform the transplant, we accepted the challenge and successfully carried it out,” he said.

According to liver transplant surgeon Dr. Rambabu Sah, the doctors decided to perform the liver transplant first, considering the potential need for a kidney transplant. It has been reported that his kidney function is now gradually improving.

Nepal Mediciti Hospital has previously performed 45 kidney transplants and over 500 hip and joint replacements. The hospital continues to provide international-standard healthcare services to the Nepali people at affordable costs