On the morning of 31/12, doctors at Military Central Hospital 108 successfully performed a liver retrieval and transplant from a brain-dead donor. The donor, a 51-year-old man, had been treated at People's Hospital 115 in TP HCM and diagnosed as brain-dead.

The recipient was a woman diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis caused by autoimmune hepatitis. Her medical history included seven esophageal variceal ruptures, surgery 27 years prior, and splenic artery embolization three years ago.

Doctors from both hospitals collaborated to retrieve the organ, which was then air-transported to Hanoi. Following a five-hour transplant procedure, the liver became viable within the female patient's body.

Doctors performing a liver transplant on the patient. *Photo: Lan Huong*

"This is an invaluable gift of life, bringing new hope to the patient and their family as we prepare to transition into the new year", a hospital representative stated.

The hospital performed its first liver transplant in 10/2017. To date, it has completed over 300 cases involving both living and brain-dead donors. The hospital is continuously refining its techniques, expanding, and applying advanced methods in liver transplantation. Its expertise includes: adult and pediatric liver transplants, living and brain-dead donor transplants, ABO-incompatible transplants, laparoscopic retrieval of liver segments from donors, laparoscopic-assisted surgery for recipients, emergency liver transplants, and split liver transplants.

Military Central Hospital 108 plans to implement RAPID liver transplants, auxiliary liver transplants, and robotic-assisted liver transplantation in the near future.

Le Nga