Global Hospitals Sets a Benchmark in Liver Care and Transplants With 900 Liver Transplants in India

Indore, India, January 27, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Indore: Liver diseases are the third most frequent cause of death in India. So, each one of us probably either knows someone who has had a liver disease or someone who is going to get it in their lifetime. Given current available medical techniques, over half of these deaths can be prevented, if detected early. These two simple facts is the reason why we all need greater awareness about liver diseases.

As a continuing effort being the pioneers and leaders in treating liver diseases, Global Hospitals Group, has undertaken a campaign to raise awareness about liver diseases across the locations where the hospital has a presence or in regions where it has offered treatment to patients.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, General Manager, Business Development, Global Hospitals, “Global Hospitals Group as a multi-super specialty, tertiary care hospital chain is India’s largest multi-locational, multi-organ transplant centre, which performs liver, heart, lung, kidney organ transplants. The Group till date has performed close to 900 liver transplants including patients from Indore. We have been consistently performing successfully, a large number complex liver surgeries and transplants. We have the largest team of specialists, comprised of Hepatologists, Liver transplant surgeons, Critical Care Specialists and Anesthetists, who are supported by world class infrastructure and technology and a strong commitment to deliver exceptional patient care.”

“Our surgeons perform the widest variety of transplants procedures on both adult and pediatric patients such as split liver, auxiliary liver, swap liver. These are performed through both cadaveric organ and live related donor programmes. I am grateful to patients and their family for the confidence and trust reposed in us. I am also grateful to the Media in enhancing awareness amongst people about liver diseases, causes & prevention and transplantation as a unique solution to save patients with end-stage liver diseases,” Mr. Singh added.

According to Dr. Kaiser Raja, Chief Hepatologist, BGS Global Hospitals, “The number of cases being diagnosed with liver cancer has increased in the last ten years. Liver cancer develops in about 10 to 20 percent of patients who have liver cirrhosis. The main causes of Liver cirrhosis are alcohol, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and fatty liver disease. Recently it has been found that persons who are overweight and have diabetes are also prone to develop liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Patients with cirrhosis who develop early liver cancer may have no symptoms and are detected only if they do regular ultrasound scan of the liver once every six months. Detection of hepatitis B and C at an early stage followed by proper treatment also prevents development of liver cancer.”

“Therefore it is important for everyone to do a screening blood test for hepatitis B and C once in their lifetime. Liver cancer can be treated quite effectively if treated early. The cancer can be treated either by surgery or by ablation using radiofrequency waves. In selected cases, liver transplantation can be done and this can cure the cancer.

The Integrated Liver Care Team at BGS Global Hospital in Bangalore specializes in management of complex liver disease and liver cancer. We see about 200 new cases of liver cancer every year and offer all possible treatment for liver cancer including liver transplantation,” Dr. Raja explained.

According to Dr. Sonal Asthana, Head of Department, HPB & Liver Surgery, BGS Global Hospitals, “Nearly 20,000 people in India die every year of liver failure. Liver transplantation has a success rate of more than 90 per cent, but less than 1,500 people receive a liver transplant every year. This is primarily because of a lack of organ donors. Organ donation can take place in patients who are brain dead, and whose families chose to donate. One donor’s organs can save eight lives, and help nearly 50 people. Organ donation is commoner in South India with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka leading the way. Bangalore has seen a dramatic increase in organ donation rates, with nearly 40 donations last year. Several patients from Indore who have had liver failure have also benefited from liver transplantation at BGS Global Hospitals Bangalore.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr M C Uthappa, Director-Department of Interventional Radiology and Interventional Oncology (IRIO), said “Surgical removal is not possible for more than two-thirds of primary liver cancer patients and 90 percent of patients with secondary liver cancer. In treating liver cancer patients, interventional radiologists can attack the tumour from inside the body without medicating or affecting other parts of the body. In treating liver cancer patients, we use embolization to cut off the blood supply to the tumour (embolization), deliver radiation to a tumour (Radioembolisation), or combine this technique with chemotherapy to deliver the cancer drug directly to the tumour (chemoembolisation). Additionally, we can use ultrasound and CT scan to guide special needles directly to the tumour through the skin to administer radiofrequency heat to "cook" and kill the cancer cells (radiofrequency ablation) or cyroablation to freeze the tumour.”