Yesterday, the country’s first successful liver transplant to an adult was announced as the transplant patient was released from hospital with great health condition.
Nguyen Thi Nham, a 47-year-old of the northern province of Phu Tho, underwent liver transplant surgery two months ago. Nham’s nephew donated a portion of his liver for the operation.
To ensure favorable conditions with the operation, the Hanoi-based Viet Nam–Germany Hospital mobilized 74 doctors and physicians to participate in the operation; eighteen of these were Taiwanese experts.
After 60 days recovery treatment in the hospital, the patient has been able to regain strength and can walk and eat independently and thus has been discharged from hospital. However, she will have to undergo weekly health checks and take specific medication to help her body adapt to the new organ.
The hospital is also planning to conduct heart transplant surgeries in the near future.
Liver transplant surgeries for adults are more risky and difficult than transplants to children, as doctors need up to 50-60 percent of the right lobe of a donor’s liver. For children, doctors can require only 30 percent of the kidney’s left lobe.
Viet Nam's first liver transplant took place at the National Burns Institute in February 2004 with the support of Japanese experts.
