Columbia Asia Gurgaon Starts Kidney Transplant

Columbia Asia Hospital Gurgaon has recently announced the launch of its dedicated kidney transplant division, with state-of-the-art facilities and world class specialists to serve patients suffering from end-stage kidney ailments. The division is being led by trained Nephrologist Dr Mohit Khirbat as well as Urologist and Kidney Transplant Surgeon, Dr Dr. Sumit Sharma

The hospital has already performed kidney transplant surgeries on some foreign patients, of which, some of them very complex and high risk procedures.

Launching the Kidney Transplant division, doctors discussed the recent complex case of a young Bangladeshi girl who had multiple issues with the kidney, heart and lung and had been refused a kidney transplant back home in Bangladesh as well as in several hospitals in India, given the threat to her life.

Experiencing failure of kidney function, 19-year-old Shahida (name changed) weighed just 33 kgs and was too weak for surgery when Dr Mohit Khirbat, Consultant Nephrologist, Columbia Asia Hospital – Palam Vihar (Gurgaon) took her under his wing. The young girl was not only weak, she also had heart and lung related complications that made her case very challenging. Before they could operate her for a kidney transplant, the doctors had to stabilize her condition and prepare her for surgery.

"Such was her condition that she was actually gasping for breath when we first attended to her. The multiple organ problems put her life at a high risk in the event of surgery. However, it was important to replace her failing kidney, if we needed to give her hope of recovery. The young girl was admitted to the hospital and first treated for her heart and lung condition to stabilize her health. Once this was achieved, we decided to go ahead with the kidney transplant," says Dr Mohit Khirbat.

The patient was then operated upon by Dr. Sumit Sharma, Kidney Transplant Surgeon & Urologist, who opted for a retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy for the donor, a method of surgery which is not being used routinely by any other hospital in North India.

"In this procedure, the surgery is done from the back instead of the front. The advantages of this method are that it only touches the main organ which is the kidney unlike the traditional laparoscopic method in which one has to enter the abdomen from the front and have go through other organs to reach the kidney. The procedure is much safer than the conventional method and aesthetically better since the scarring is on the back. The safety and postoperative comfort of the donor is of utmost importance. The donor was able to move out of bed and was able to eat on the first day after surgery," said Dr Sumit Sharma.