How modern medical technology and miracles saved Chennai's 3-year old liver failure patient

Radhesh was just like any other bubbly three-year-old kid, enjoying his time playing with his parents and siblings. He even enjoyed an occasional game of cricket, with his plastic cricket set inside the confines of his parents’ Chennai home.

But things were never the same for the little boy after he had what seemed like an ordinary fever in the second week of April. On consulting the doctors at Chennai’s Apollo Hospital, he was diagnosed with Fulminant Liver Failure which is otherwise known as sudden Catastrophic Liver Failure. However, the boy did not have a history of disease or illness and was completely healthy until the fever began to deteriorate his condition.

His condition was on a downward spiral within 24 hours of being hospitalized. His father, Varadharaj told WION, ‘from a state of unconsciousness he went into a state of coma within two days and he remained in a coma for over a week. Doctors suggested that we go for a Liver transplant as that had been the life-saver in earlier cases.’

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Liver failure is a condition that also impacts critical functions of the body said Dr Suchitra Ranjt, Chief of Pediatric ICU at Apollo Hospitals. It has detrimental effects on many organs and functions including the brain, kidney, blood circulation, clotting, she added. These conditions could also further lead to haemorrhage in the brain or lungs.

While the doctors were making all necessary arrangements for a super-urgent cadaveric liver transplant, the boy was put on ICU Liver support therapy that serves as a bridge to support life until a liver transplant is completed. But it turned out that no donor was suitable.

Dr Suchitra Ranjit said, “We placed him on complete life-support by utilizing the same high-end technology that is available in the best liver-units across the world. He was ventilated, placed on chemically-induced coma, and provided Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (an advanced form of dialysis) and a daily dose of plasma-exchange (blood purification therapy, in addition to continuous brain monitoring and circulatory support.”

Miraculously, six days after his hospitalization the boy’s liver showed tiny signs of recovery and there was a marked decrease in the swellings in the brain and kidney. Around 9 days after his admission into the ICU, he was removed from the ventilator and was taken off life-support technology.

Speaking of the boy’s recovery Dr Suchitra said, over the course of 20 years we have seen 40-45 children with liver and multiple-organ failure, none of them had survived without a liver transplant. But for Radhesh, his liver gradually recovered and he didn’t require a transplant, which is the best possible scenario to survive.

Having little Radhesh seated on his lap, his father Varadharajan told WION that their family can’t be more delighted as the boy recovered without any surgical intervention, without even a knife scar on his body. While the kid is completely alright, he has been advised to rest at home, following which he can begin his schooling just like any other of his peer.

While the cause of Liver failure was not ascertained, the team of Doctors who treated and monitored the little boy said that there are over 100 possible causes. Of which only about 20 could be diagnosed via tests. They added that paracetamol overdose is one of the most common causes of Liver failure, but it had a higher chance of recovery. The efforts of the Doctors were also augmented by inputs from the Director of the King’s College in London, that has done the highest number of liver transplants for adults and kids.