Wockhardt Hospitals Blog

Mumbai, April 11, 2009: The liver unit team at Wockhardt Hospitals performed a life saving liver resection on an eighteen month old baby giving her a fresh lease of life. The team led by Dr. S K Mathur, Senior Consultant Surgeon, HPB Surgery & Liver Transplantation; Wockhardt Hospitals successfully completed the four hour surgery on this little baby without any complications.

The one-and-a-half year old baby a native of Orissa was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare cancerous tumour that originates in the liver. To worsen matters, it was detected at a rather locally advanced stage complicating matters for the ailing child. After undergoing chemotherapy at another Mumbai hospital she was to Wockhardt Hospitals for further intervention.

“The chemotherapy that Sumana had taken served to downsize the tumour in her liver to make it more resectable.” says Dr S K Mathur, Senior Consultant Surgeon, HPB Surgery & Liver Transplantation, Wockhardt Hospitals. “But it was the late detection that had worsened Sumana’s case. Cases of liver tumors in such young children are very rare almost one in a million. Managing such a small baby for a major liver resection was quite a difficult task and such surgeries are not commonly done on them.”

If eighteen-month old Sumana could just spell it out, she would have agreed heartedly and thanked Dr S K Mathur and Dr. Mahesh Goel and Wockhardt Hospitals for giving her a new life.

Dr. Mahesh Goel, Consultant Onco Surgeon at Wockhardt Hospitals said “This is a rare tumor potentially curable if treated at the right time and requires highly technical skill set to perform such a surgery. The challenge lies in removing the diseased part of the live safely in such a small child without any complication, no loss of blood and with adequate margin of liver to achieve cure.”

Dr. Mathur also added, “Sumana stayed in the ICU for one day, oral feeds started on the first day and she was discharged on the fifth day. The cause of her cancerous liver tumour could probably have been genetic. But it is a potentially curable cancer in a child, if it is treated in the early stages. During surgery we had to take care to prevent excessive blood loss and hypothermia (abnormally low body temperature. If Sumana’s case had gone untreated, she would probably not have survived for more than six months.”

Dr. Sangeeta Shetty, Consultant Anesthetist, Wockhardt Hospitals said, “The hospital provides technical backup during surgery of such a young patient. Intra operative care is taken during anesthetic management of such a small baby which includes maintaining temperature, physiological status, intravenous fluid and ensuring this is continued in the post operative period.”

Also present at the occasion Dr. Ravindra Karanjekar, Associate VP, Wockhardt Hospitals Mumbai said, “Wockhardt hospitals Mulund has developed expertise in Hepato billiary Surgeries including Liver transplant. With the help of Harvard International we have set up a well developed Transplant program in the country and have successfully conducted few liver transplants in the city. Such complex surgeries are not possible without highly skilled surgeons like Dr. Mathur & Dr. Goyal and require a great team work of anesthetists, nurses & other paramedical staff. Intensivists also play a vital role in such surgeries. Surgeries as such are very critical & Wockhardt Hospital is always on the forefront to bring in newer medical services to western region of the country. Our motto is save lives at any cost!”


About Hepatoblastoma

Hepatoblastoma is a very rare cancerous tumour that originates in the liver, which is one of the largest organs in the body. The primary functions of the liver include filtering and storing blood. The liver consists of left and right lobes, and it is commonly seen that most hepatoblastoma tumors generally occur in the right lobe. This disease primarily affects children from infancy to about five years of age. Most cases show up during the first 18 months of life. Hepatoblastoma cancer cells are known to metastasize or spread to other areas of the body. The most common sites of such metastasis are the lungs, into the abdomen, and in some rare cases to the central nervous system, bone and bone marrow.


About Department of Gastro-intestinal & HPB Surgery Wockhardt Hospitals: