Chennai: On an average, 1 in 30,000 children are born with some form of metabolic disorders, said Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre women and child health department director and paediatric hepatologist, Dr Naresh Shanmugam.
The doctor was speaking at a press meet convened to discuss the successful liver transplantation procedure performed on a one-month-old baby here Tuesday.
The baby, which was born in Mumbai, had developed vomiting in the first week of birth and required medical intervention.
Addressing the media, Dr Naresh said, “The infant was diagnosed of urea cycle defect, a rare genetic disease, as a result of which, when the child is fed with proteins, it gets converted into ammonia leading to brain swelling and thus fits. It is the enzyme in the liver that aids in the process of ammonia conversion. It left us with the choice of transplanting the liver.”
The baby’s mother Kashbi Sayani said, “He was immediately given treatment in Mumbai. However, it did not provide a permanent solution. The ammonia levels kept shooting up even after stabilising him. We learnt that liver transplantation is the only solution and decided to go ahead. We consulted doctors at Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre in Chennai.”
Following which, the surgery was performed 23 July and the child is on immunosuppresant drugs. The organ was donated by the mother’s brother Ashesh.
Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre chairman and managing director, Dr Mohamed Rela said, “The chances of recurrence is less in the baby’s case. The condition can be detected during the pregnancy by testing the amniotic fluid. Due to the rarity of the disease, majority of the parents fail to detect it at the earliest and seek medical intervention late. In this case, the metabolic disease has been totally cured.”
Caption: Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre chairman and managing director, Dr Mohamed Rela and the baby who recently underwent a liver transplantation during a press meet in Chennai Tuesday. The child’s mother Kashbi Sayani and father Neerav Sayani are present.