Doctors perform the liver transplant surgery. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — Doctors from the National Children's Hospital and the 108 Central Military Hospital have successfully performed a liver transplant on an 18-month-old girl suffering from malignant hepatoblastoma. 

According to Dr. Nguyễn Phạm Anh Hoa, head of the Hepatology Department and Dr. Bùi Ngọc Lan, head of the Oncology Department of the National Children's Hospital, the girl was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer when she was 11 months old. The healthy part of her liver was too small, making it impossible to cut out the cancerous part of the organ.

After consultations between the two hospitals on May 25, Associate Prof. Dr. Trần Minh Điển, Director of the National Children's Hospital decided to conduct a liver transplant to save the girl.

The donor is her mother, a 41-year-old woman.

Dr. Lê Văn Thành, head of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery at the 108 Central Military Hospital said that despite the complicacy of the operation, experienced doctors from the two hospitals managed to perform it successfully on May 29. 

The girl recovered two weeks later and was discharged from the hospital.

Earlier this year, the 108 Central Military Hospital signed an agreement on liver transplant training and technology transferring with the National Children's Hospital. The operation took place just several months after the agreement.

This is the first successful liver transplant for a child suffering from liver cancer in Việt Nam, opening up hopes for children suffering from the disease. — VNS