On December 7, the liver transplant team led by Wang Zhengxin, professor of general surgery at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, successfully completed a special operation. Ms. Hao donated 60% of her healthy liver to her husband, Mr. Zhu, whose liver was severely damaged, to help her husband regain his new life. Before the operation, the couple shook hands, and the medical staff helped them both record this touching scene.
On December 7, 2021, the couple shook hands at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University before the operation. The pictures in this article are all courtesy of Huashan Hospital
Wang Zhengxin introduced that because of the comprehensive consideration of blood type, liver size matching, vascular variation, family relationships and other issues, liver donation between husband and wife is relatively rare, "As a doctor, this wife's 'liver donation to save her husband' has deeply touched us."
Mr. Zhu, a 40-year-old from Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, has a long history of hepatitis B disease, and due to the failure to treat it regularly and reasonably, in early July 2021, his abdomen gradually "bulged" uncontrollably, less than 3 months, just like "pregnant in October". Not only that, but he also often had intermittent confusion, so his family sent him to the hospital urgently.
After being diagnosed by the local hospital, Mr. Zhu's cirrhosis of the liver has reached the end stage and will soon be life-threatening. Local doctors told families that liver transplants could take a turnaround.
On the recommendation of his fellow villagers, Mr. Zhu got in touch with Shen Conghuan, a general surgeon at Huashan Hospital, and Shen Conghuan's professionalism and patience gave the family hope.
During surgery
In order to reduce the patient's family running back and forth, Shen Conghuan communicated with them remotely many times, answering transplant-related questions and psychological counseling. Knowing that Mr. Zhu's liver was seriously damaged and the time to wait for organ donation was uncertain, in order to allow patients to receive timely treatment, Shen Conghuan gave a second choice in addition to waiting for organ donation: relatives donating liver. This means that if there are suitable relatives who are willing to donate liver, not only can they operate as soon as possible, but also reduce the overall cost and reduce the burden on the family.
After listening to the doctor's advice, the family went to the hospital for examination, Mr. Zhu's parents were elderly, and the blood types of the two sisters did not match. Perhaps it is providence in the darkness, Mr. Zhu's wife Hao, who has been married for 20 years, has a blood type that just matches, ignoring the weight of her husband's liver ascites, and the height and weight of the couple are similar, which means that the wife's liver donation is feasible.
Knowing the risks that the operation may face, the family is very worried about Ms. Hao's safety, but she still firmly says, "I must save him!" "I believe in the doctor's technique."
Just two weeks ago, the couple, accompanied by their parents and siblings, came to Huashan Hospital and met Shen Conghuan, a doctor who had been "chatting" for several months.
After a series of preoperative preparations, at 9 a.m. on December 7, the two officially performed a parental liver transplant at Huashan Hospital. Before entering the operating room, the couple shook hands, and the medical staff took a set of photos for them.
Wang Zhengxin's liver transplant team also operated on the donor recipient, and Shen Conghuan first drained nearly 10,000 ml of ascites for Mr. Zhu, and then carried out the liver resection of the diseased liver. At the same time, Ms. Hao was operated in the operating room next door by doctor Tao Yifeng to perform the operation for her to obtain a donor liver. At 2 p.m. on the same day, after multiple intraoperative ultrasound and cholangiography confirmation, the doctor successfully obtained 605 grams of his wife's right half of the liver, and after fine vascular reconstruction, the right half of the liver was transplanted into the husband's body.
At present, both husband and wife are recovering well, and the healthy liver that has been "divided into two" is working smoothly in their bodies, and it is expected that Ms. Hao will be successfully discharged from the hospital in the near future, and it is expected that Mr. Zhu will also be discharged from the hospital in about two weeks after surgery.