Interview
More hope for the patients after liver transplant
Dr K C Tan (right) poses with Mr Mozammel Huq Bhuiyan who got liver transplant in 2011 and now surviving well.
End stage liver diseases are no longer a helpless situation. There are solutions to the terminal stage patients to get a liver transplant. Over time, the procedure is becoming well practiced and the survival of the patients is increasing. Renowned liver transplant surgeon Dr K C Tan of The Asian Centre for Liver Diseases & Transplantation in Singapore recently visited Bangladesh to attend a Hepatology Conference shared his views with Star Health. Dr Tan says that liver transplant gives lot more hope now to the liver disease patients who would die in the past. Now more people are aware that liver transplant is possible. So more people are taking the advantage. As the technique has improved and as there is better medication now available, if patients get liver transplant in time, the chance of survival is more than ever before â€" about 80-85% in case of adults and more than 90% in case of children. The most exciting thing that happened over the last one year is a rapid development of new medication especially for Hepatitis C. Dr Tan suggested that patients with Hepatitis C should get treated as soon as possible before they get liver cirrhosis. Mr Mozammel Huq Bhuiyan got infected by Hepatitis C virus since 1996 and came to a terminal stage. Over time, his situation got worse and he had almost no hope of life; he was returned by some doctors even. But he got liver transplanted in 2011 in Singapore and now surviving well. He just got a new life and experienced no problems following the operative procedure. Liver transplant is not a business of one surgeon only, but it depends on a whole team to perform the procedure. Dr Tan opined that the most critical part is managing the patient after operation. So maintaining the standard of sophisticated care is very important. Dr Tan hopes about Bangladesh that the doctors here will be able to perform the procedure.
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