New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Nearly 175 years after his ancestors migrated from Uttar Pradesh to the Caribbean, a seven-month-old Indo-Trinidadian infant returned to India for a rare liver transplant at a Delhi hospital, with doctors saying only a few dozen children worldwide with his genetic condition have undergone the procedure.
According to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, the infant, Erik Ramsook, weighed less than four kg and was suffering from end-stage liver failure caused by a rare TJP2 genetic mutation. His family traces its roots to Moradiha village in present-day Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh, while Erik was born in Trinidad and Tobago.
The hospital said Erik developed jaundice within weeks of birth, which gradually progressed to severe
liver disease. By the time he arrived in Delhi, he was critically ill with severe malnutrition, fluid accumulation in the abdomen (ascites) and portal hypertension.
Doctors at the hospital performed a living donor liver transplant within a week of the family’s arrival in India. Erik’s father was initially evaluated as a donor but was found unsuitable, following which his mother donated a portion of her liver for the transplant.
The hospital said a post-transplant genetic evaluation identified a rare TJP2 mutation, an uncommon genetic cause of progressive cholestatic liver disease. Doctors said only a few dozen children worldwide with the condition have undergone a liver transplant, making it an exceptionally rare indication in infants. Erik was discharged on the 15th day after surgery and is recovering well.
Dr Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Paediatric Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at Apollo Hospitals Group, said the child had arrived at the hospital with rapidly progressive chronic liver disease and end-stage liver failure.
“Given his severe malnutrition and extremely low weight, we had to expedite the evaluation and transplant process. Erik’s successful recovery is a testament to timely intervention, multidisciplinary teamwork, and the resilience of a family whose story has come full circle,” he said.
Dr Neerav Goyal, Senior Consultant and Head of Liver Transplant Surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said only two of the 645 paediatric liver transplants performed at the hospital have been for children with the TJP2 mutation.
He said Erik was also only the second child from Trinidad and Tobago to undergo a successful liver transplant at the hospital, adding that the child’s recovery highlights the team’s experience in treating rare paediatric liver disorders. PTI SGV SGV MDO MDO
