FATHER’S DAY
41-year-old woman with chronic kidney disease kidney from her 72 year old father
Chandigarh, June 17, 2023: ( AVAJ APKI NEWS )
The Renal Sciences Department at Fortis Hospital Mohali has given a new lease of life to a 41-year-old woman suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) via a kidney transplant surgery in April this year. The kidney was donated by the patient’s father, aged 72.
Incidentally, Sunday is Father’s Day and this case truly brings out the bonding between the father and his daughter. Father Rajinder and daughter Meena Devi are residents of Karnal.
The patient had uremic symptoms (due to increased level of harmful substances in the blood) and had been undergoing hemodialysis (filtering waste and water from the blood) twice a week ever since January last. But, after her symptoms failed to improve, she finally visited Dr Anna Gupta, Associate Consultant, Renal Sciences and Kidney Transplant, Fortis Hospital Mohali.
Upon examination, Dr Gupta found that the patient had swelling in the feet and legs, uncontrolled blood pressure, decreased appetite, anaemia (low level of blood) for which she had received multiple blood transfusions. She had also contracted an infection in the dialysis line, and was later put on antibiotics. Dr Gupta counselled the patient to undergo a kidney transplant surgery and following proper evaluation, the patient’s father offered to become the donor as he was the only compatible and legitimate donor in the family.
The Kidney Transplant Surgery team comprising Dr Gupta; Dr Sunil Kumar, Senior Consultant and Kidney Transplant Surgeon; and Dr Sahil Rally, Attending Consultant, Kidney Transplant, Fortis Mohali, successfully operated on the patient. She was ambulated on the third day of the surgery and discharged on the sixth day with normal creatinine (0.6 to 1.1 mg/dL).
Discussing the case, Dr Gupta, said, “Post surgery, the patient has normal creatinine, swelling has subsided, blood pressure is under control and her appetite has improved. The donor was also discharged on the fourth day of the surgery with no complications till date and performing his day-to-day activities without any difficulty.”
Stating that CKD was a rising health problem in India, Dr Gupta, added, “Screening diabetic patients and hypertensives ones (increased blood pressure) is the key. Awareness needs to be spread about the symptoms of CKD. Kidney transplant has a success rate of more than 97% and Fortis Mohali boasts of the most advanced medical facilities. If a patient doesn’t undergo timely kidney transplant surgery, it can further develop certain uremic (kidney failure-related) complications, infections, heart diseases.”
Highlighting the importance of kidney transplant, Dr Sunil Kumar, said, “Careful selection of donors is very important as a successful surgery outcome ensures a healthy life for the patient. Also, patients can return home within a week of the surgery and resume their normal routine activities. Except for the first three months, there are very few dietary restrictions. Regular follow-ups with a nephrologist are however necessary.”
Dr Sahil Rally also emphasized on identifying uremic complications and their effects on the surgical outcome. “Some of the complications include infection, bleeding, heart and lung-related problems, malnutrition, anaemia requiring blood transfusion, risk of developing antibodies against the transplanted kidney, dialysis access, risk of patient going on to the ventilator requiring critical care, delay in wound healing, diseased blood vessels (on which the kidney is implanted) leading to suboptimal kidney function and financial strapping.”
On what constitutes a successful kidney transplant programme, Dr Gupta, added, “A kidney transplant programme requires careful pre-operative selection of the kidney transplant donor, expertise in kidney transplant surgery, advanced level of post-operative care as well as a dedicated team of transplant surgeons and transplant nephrologists.”
