Successful liver transplant on a Covid patient at MGM Healthcare

Young and energetic, Kabaddi player Ragul Gandhi was diagnosed with acute liver failure and jaundice, questioning his future ahead. Things turned tragic when he lapsed into a coma within two days. To add to the agony, he tested positive for COVID.

He was admitted to MGM Healthcare in the hope that he could be saved. To give him a fighting chance, the medical team at MGM performed the first-ever liver transplant on a COVID positive patient. Ragul Gandhi’s brother was identified as the donor.

The surgery took over 12 hours. An able team of 50 doctors, surgeons, nurses and intensivists, headed by Dr. Thiagarajan S (Director of the Institute of Liver Diseases, Transplant & HPB Surgery) along with Dr. Karthik Mathivanan (Associate Director), performed the marathon procedure. Continuous plasma purification, toxic filtration and liver dialysis was carried out until the new liver could function.

Performing the whole procedure during the peak of COVID-19, with the whole city under several travel restrictions made the whole process more challenging for the team.

All this effort has culminated in one outcome – Ragul Gandhi is back on his feet. We, at MGM Healthcare, find it necessary to keep pushing the boundaries when saving lives.