Kathmandu – Nepal Mediciti Hospital has successfully performed the first liver transplant in its medical history. The liver of 56-year-old Ishwor Bahadur Karki of Pokhara was donated by his son Ayush Karki, 26.
The complex surgery was carried out under the leadership of doctors from Nepal Medicity in collaboration with Amrita Hospital in India. It took 9 hours to remove the liver and 13 hours to transplant it.
“We had been to India twice, but the consultations there were not satisfactory. After learning that such services were available in Nepal, we decided to get the transplant at Medicity,” said liver donor Ayush.
According to the hospital’s chairman, Dr. Upendra Mahatto, such a complex surgery was possible because of the multidisciplinary team at Medicity. “We launched the hospital so that Nepalis would not have to go abroad for treatment,” he said.
According to Dr. Umid Kumar Shrestha, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, along with the liver, patient Karki’s kidneys were also damaged. The transplant was successful when serious symptoms such as water retention in the stomach, vomiting blood, and loss of consciousness were observed.
Liver transplant surgeon Dr. Ram Babu Sah said that the liver transplant was performed first as there was a suspicion that the kidney damage may have been caused by the liver, and now the kidney has also improved.
About 200-300 people in Nepal need liver transplants every year. But in 2023-24 alone, more than 70 Nepalis went to India for transplants.
Nepal Medicity has been operating various organ transplant services to provide world-class healthcare to Nepali citizens. So far, 45 kidneys and more than 500 hip and joint transplants have been performed here.
The hospital has pledged to make such complex services accessible in the future as well.