A 31-year-old Polish paediatrician recently underwent surgery for a rare advanced stage bile duct liver cancer.
An MRI scan in July last, revealed an 8 x 7 cm lesion in the right lobe and three 3 x 2 cm lesions each in the left lobe of the liver. Called intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, the doctors customised his treatment.
A multidisciplinary team of surgeons including Thiagarajan Srinivasan and Karthik Mathivanan, director and associate director of the MGM Institute of Liver Disease and Transplant, conducted the surgery.
The doctors used the transarterial radioembolisation (TARE) therapy and chemotherapy to down-stage the locally advanced cancer in six months, making transplantation feasible.
Thiagarajan Srinivasan, explained that transplant was the only option to excise the tumour fully with the bile duct encompassing the liver.
“The patient successfully underwent living donor liver transplant,” said Dr. Thiagarajan. The patient’s husband donated the right lobe of his liver. The doctors said that post-surgery, the patient’s recovery was swift, with no evidence of cancer recurrence.
