Grueling 4-hour kidney transplant successful: Doctors

Published On: March 5, 2020 08:10 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


Prime Minister Oli to remain in hospital a few more days

KATHMANDU, March 5: Prime Minister KP Oli underwent a successful second kidney transplant on Wednesday, at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Maharajgunj. The surgery lasted a grueling four hours. It included extraction of a kidney from a 32-year-old donor before it was successfully transplanted to Oli, who is 69. 

Samikshya Sangraula, the kidney donor, is a relative of the prime minister. “The newly transplanted kidney has begun functioning. PM Oli discharged 500ml of urine 15 minutes after the transplant,” said Prem Raj Gyawali, a consultant urologist and kidney transplant surgeon at the teaching hospital, who led the surgery. “The surgery took around four hours.” 

“PM Oli’s condition is stable and all the health indicators are positive,” reads a statement issued by Dr Prem Krishna Khadka, executive director of TUTH.  Oli will be given liquid food orally from Thursday morning if there are no complications. The prime minister will remain in the hospital for observation for four or five days, according to Dr Gyawali.

The statement added that medical attention will continue to be provided by the transplant care unit.

A team of doctors from various disciplines were involved in the surgery. The transplant team included besides Dr Gyawali, a consultant urologist and kidney transplant surgeon at the teaching hospital, Dr Uttam Kumar Sharma and Dr Ananta Kumar, a senior transplant surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi. He had led Oli’s first kidney transplant surgery in 2007. 

The transplant team also included Dr Dibya Singh Shah, Dr Mukesh Kafle, Dr Mahesh Sigdel and Dr Rabin Nepali. The anesthetic and critical care team comprised Dr Anil Shrestha and Dr Subash Acharya.

Prime Minister Oli was admitted to TUTH on Monday in preparation for the transplant. On Tuesday, a dialysis was carried out to remove toxins from the blood. Oli fasted for 12 hours before the transplant while blood and urine tests were being carried out simultaneously. 

With the second transplant, Oli now has four kidneys – the original two and two transplanted ones. The newly transplanted kidney alone will be functional, according to doctors. The major function of the kidney is to filter out water, minerals and fluids from the blood through the urine.

Oli has undergone regular dialysis for the last four months after his first transplanted kidney began to malfunction. With the fresh transplant, the prime minister will not need to go for regular dialysis. Dialysis and kidney transplant are the two options for the treatment of acute renal failure.

Oli had also undergone surgery after he was diagnosed with appendicitis and infection in the stomach (peritonitis) in November. A coronary angiography was also carried out on him at Manmohan Cardio-thoracic 

Vascular and Transplant Centre, Maharajgunj on February 18.

Well-wishers gathering
Well wishers and students affiliated with the ANNFSU from various colleges gathered in front of the teaching hospital carrying photos of the prime minister as scores of media persons were awaiting for updates on the renal transplant. Scores of NCP leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel and Chief Minister of Pradesh 5, Shankar Pokharel, were seen at the hospital while the surgery was under way.


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