Indian doctors conducted liver transplant

Pakistanis assisted in procedure

By Ali Waqar and Nauman Tasleem

April 5, 2006

LAHORE: The successful liver transplant that was carried out at Masood Hospital on March 28 was conducted by Indian surgeons and not by a team of Pakistani surgeons, as claimed by hospital authorities, sources told Daily Times on Tuesday.

Sources said hospital authorities were lying about the fact that Indian surgeons had performed the liver transplant, which is the most successful in Pakistani history as the patient has survived for more than a week, because they wanted to take advantage of the commercial aspect of the success. Also, the Pakistani doctors that took part in the procedure were not from Masood Hospital, sources added.

Another reason why hospital authorities had lied about the surgeons' identity was because it was illegal for foreign doctors to operate on a person or people in Pakistan without prior permission from the relevant government authority, sources said, adding that there was no law on donating human organs in Pakistan yet.

A doctor at Masood Hospital told Daily Times that three Indian doctors including Dr Arvinder Soin (team leader) had come to Lahore from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi to conduct the operation. "Dr Soin is in the Department of Multi-Organ Transplantation and specialises in transplants. He and two of his assistants lead the operation while Pakistani doctors including Dr Khalid Javed of Masood Hospital assisted them," he said, adding that the equipment used was not Pakistani. "The doctors left for India immediately after the operation and later hospital authorities claimed to have conducted the procedure without outside help," he added.

Masood Hospital authorities told Daily Times that Dr Javed and his team conducted the transplant, but did not give details of the surgery. They also claimed that because of professional rivalry other doctors were giving a bad name to Masood Hospital and wanted to put down the hospital's liver transplant project that had cost more than Rs 25 million.

The hospital had sent Dr Javed to the UK's Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre and India's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to train for the surgery, authorities said.

Reports had stated on Monday that the surgery had taken more than 15 hours in which Saleem Marri's (the patient) entire liver was taken out and then replaced by one half of his brother Attaullah Khan's liver. Saleem is still on the ventilator and doctors hope his condition will stabilise within a day while Attaullah is walking and talking.

However, experts and noted surgeons in Lahore told Daily Times that Dr Javed did not have the expertise to conduct the transplant without any help. A senior surgeon said Dr Javed had just monitored the surgery. They said that according to international standards, a liver transplant patient was supposed to come out of unconsciousness within 24 hours of the surgery. Masood Hospital Chief Executive Dr Masood told Daily Times that the hospital had conducted the transplant successfully and without any outside help. He even claimed Masood Hospital had developed a liver transplant centre of international standards. "The surgery has cost about Rs 2.5 million to Rs 3 million, but a final calculation will be made after the patient is discharged from the hospital," he added.

Asked whether Indian surgeons had lead the operation, Dr Masood said, "There is nothing wrong with Indians being here for the operation, as we live in a global village and if any person can offer expertise, he or she should be allowed to help." Dr Masood claimed that the press was interested in a 'negative' story to make the issue 'more interesting'.

Dr Javed also claimed that he and his team conducted the transplant without any help. However, when pressed, Dr Javed said, "We did not want to disclose that Indian doctors were in Lahore because it could create legal complications for them."

Copyright © 2006 Pakistani Daily Times.

This article posted April 30, 2006.