SIMS Hospitals, one of the leading multi-speciality hospitals in Chennai, performed successful liver transplant surgery under an operating microscope, marking a significant development in the field of liver transplant surgery.

The skill-intensive microsurgical liver transplant evidently reduces the post-surgical complications to a larger extent and ensures better outcomes for patients. Sharing his thoughts on the successful transplant and the benefits of Microsurgical Liver Transplant Surgery, Dr S. Vivekanandan, Lead Surgeon, Liver Transplant, SIMS, said, "Conventionally, liver transplants are done using magnifying glasses (also known as Surgical Loupes) to enhance visualization of tissues and blood vessels. But, we at SIMS have performed a liver transplant surgery under an operating microscope, which is a first-of-its-kind. Surgical microscopes are generally used for brain and microvascular surgeries in India and only very few centres in the country perform liver transplant surgeries under a microscope. We are glad about our expertise we could perform this surgery successfully, with a very minimal complication for the patient, which I think should be the way forward!"

Speaking on the benefits of the transplant, Dr Vivekanandan said that the advantages of microsurgery technique over the conventional surgical methods are unquestionable and include the cleaner and smaller incisions, lesser haemorrhage, minimal tissue handling and a closer wound approximation. The microsurgical methods have shown far superior results against the procedures carried out conventionally, minimising the overall risk and post-surgical complications and stress for the patients.

To put it simply, the surgeries done using surgical microscopes magnify the object under study from about 20 to 30 times and the approximation of tissues are more accurate, as thinner suture materials are used. Also, this technique helps in the reduction of tissue reactions, which in turn prevent blockage of tissues (thrombus formation) and narrowing (stricture) of the bile ducts in the long term. The technical aspects of the surgery.

The arterial (blood vessel to the liver) and bile duct anastomosis (Biliary reconstruction) are often the last significant step in a liver transplant procedure. But unless done right, complications in these anastomoses pose a significant risk of mortality; common causes being narrowing or leakage of the duct & blockage to the artery.