By Shaligram Nepal, Chitwan, Mar. 28: For the first time outside of the capital, liver transplantation has been performed at the Chitwan Medical College (CMC). A team of specialist doctors and nurses successfully performed the transplantation on 54-year-old Dhan Kumari Lama last Sunday.

Lama is a permanent resident of Bharatpur Metropolitan City–10 but had been living in Kathmandu for the last 10 years. According to Professor Dr Harish Chandra Neupane, managing director of CMC, Lama’s 34-year-old daughter Usha Tamang gave her liver tissue.

Expressing happiness over the successful transplantation of the liver from daughter to mother, Neupane said that it was an achievement to have performed the procedure outside of Kathmandu Valley.

Dr Sanjay Yadav informed that it took 12 hours to perform the operation. The hospital has informed that the health of both the donor and receiver is stable.

A team of specialist surgeons including Dr Sanjay Yadav, Dr Ekananda Singh, Dr Prabin Joshi, Dr Jayant Kumar Shah, Dr Abhishek Bhattarai, Anaesthesiologist Dr Kiran Adhikari, Dr Suresh Gautam, Dr Navin Yadav, Hepatologist Dr Sagar Poudel, Dr Barun Shrestha, Radiologist Dr Bigyan Poudel, nurses Anju Thapa, Shruti Yadav, Salina Tiwari, Sumi Karki, Asmita Thapa, Pushpa Thapa Magar and Biomedical Engineer Prakash Khatiwada were involved in the transplantation. Dr Nirabh Goyal, Dr Arun Kumar and Dr Sanjeev Anija of Apollo Hospital, New Delhi also participated.

Dhan Kumari Lama had to undergo transplantation because of chronic liver disease. She was advised to visit CMC for the operation by Dr Ajit Khanal of Bir Hospital, Kathmandu.

“Chitwan Medical College has four surgeons, three critical care staff, three anesthesiologists and 10 nurses specially trained to perform liver transplantations,” said Pratap Devkota, chief executive officer of the college. He expressed confidence that the successful transplantation in Chitwan would help end the need to seek expensive treatment abroad.

Devkota asked the government to play a parental role to facilitate liver transplantation procedures in the country.

National statistics show that about 60 per cent of the liver problems in the country occur due to alcohol abuse and Hepatitis B and C. Diabetes also contributes greatly to liver degeneration.

Doctors say that symptoms of liver damage only appear after 50 to 60 per cent of the liver is damaged. So, health experts suggest people get their liver checked at least once a year.