Published Siriraj has succeeded to transplant 4 abdominal organs into a single patient for the first time in Thailand!
Three years ago, Siriraj hospital admitted a female patient who had suffered from entire small bowels and proximal large bowels necrosis resulted from mesenteric vein thrombosis after a duodenal surgery. After repeated surgery, she was unable to eat or swallow anything and required total parenteral nutrition to survive. Her liver and pancreas were also damaged from ischemia and long-term intravenous nutrition.
“It was a terrible tragedy that I couldn’t do such basic daily activities as eating, chewing, swallowing, or even feeling full” the patient once moaned while waiting for the bowels transplantation which was the only option to put her back to normal life.
In Thailand, bowels transplantation operation has never been done before. Not only is it a complicated surgery, but the donated bowels must come from a blood-group-compatible and healthy donor close to Bangkok, as the small intestine is a delicate organ that cannot endure long periods of ischemia. It took more than 2 years before we finally have received a perfect donation. In April 2021, 4 surgeons from the Siriraj transplantation surgery team traveled an hour away to a hospital to retrieve donated abdominal organs, which were liver, pancreas, stomach, and small bowels, which took nearly 3 hours! On the way back to Siriraj Hospital, another 4 surgeons, 3 anesthesiologists, and 15 surgical nurses had started a surgery to prepare the patient’s intraabdominal conditions for the impending unprecedented transplantation. After 7 hours of intense strain and tiredness, the first-in-Thailand surgery was satisfactorily finished because of the surgeons’ expertise and excellent teamwork, and the patient uneventfully recovered a few days afterward. Parenteral nutrition was completely stopped 1 month later and the patient was discharged home to resume her normal life again.
“My first bite in years was quite a weird feeling, but I was overjoyed. I could not put into words how much I’m grateful to the whole team.” The patient stated when she came for a follow-up and still doing well.
After the first successful kidney transplantation in 1973, Siriraj continues to provide help for the patients who require organ transplantation. Today, the transplantation team performs approximately 80 organ transplants/year including kidney, liver, heart, lung, and, most recently, intestines. Not only holding many country’s records, but Siriraj hospital is also one of the hospitals that perform the highest number of organ transplantation in Thailand with the best possible standard!
