Youngest Child to Successfully Undergo Small Intestine Transplant in Asia

Rela Hospital, a multi-speciality, quaternary care hospital in Chennai, has entered the Asia Book of Records for having successfully performed a small intestine transplant surgery on a 4-year-old boy from Bangalore, the youngest in Asia to have undergone this surgery.

This rare procedure was recognised by The Asian Book of Records as Asia’s Youngest Small Intestine Transplant Surgery, the certificate of Asia Book of Records was handed over to Prof. Mohamed Rela, Chairman and Managing Director, Rela Hospital, today by Mr. Vivek, a representative of Asia Book of Records in the presence of Mr Ma. Subramaniam, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu and Dr J Radhakrishnan, IAS, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu. A healthy and active child, Master Guhan developed sudden and erratic vomiting for 2 days, this got Mr. Swaminathan, the father of Master Guhan worried and rushed him to the neighbourhood hospital thinking it could be a routine stomach infection. To their surprise, the doctors told them that he has a rare condition called volvulus, a rare complication, in which intestine loop twists resulting in cutting off the blood supply to that intestinal loop. An emergency surgery had to be performed, which revealed to the surgeons that the intestinal loop has been completely necrosed (nonviable) and had to be removed, this meant that stomach was attached to skin (stoma). Small intestine, the lower part of the digestive system, is to absorb most of the nutrients from the food.