Cuttack: The lack of a trained team could further delay the functioning of the liver transplant unit that has come up at the state-run SCB Medical College Hospital here.
The project was announced in 2013 and the government had sanctioned Rs 22 crore to build the unit within a year. However, the project still lies in a limbo.
Hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with some or all of a healthy organ from another person (allograft). The most commonly used technique is orthotopic transplantation, in which the native liver is removed and replaced by the donor organ in the same anatomic location as the original liver.
Sources said the hospital was ready with the state-of-the-art unit. It has operation theatres, ICUs, pre and post-operative wards along with other facilities. But it cannot take off as it has no doctors and other medical staff trained to undertake such surgeries.
Experts said transplantation was a viable treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure. Typically three surgeons and two anaesthesiologists are involved, with up to four supporting nurses.
The government had sought the help of Tom Cherian of Nizam's Institute of Medical Science, who had agreed to put forward his proficiency to prepare a team for liver transplant surgery.
Hepatology department head Umesh Chandra Patra said things would proceed after Cherian assessed the unit. "Improvements if necessary to run the unit will be done accordingly," Patra said.
The unit has been planned to function under the gastroenterology department with doctors drawn from hepatology, and medicine, radiology, pathology, anaesthesiology and critical care medicine departments.
The hospital's administrative officer Pratap Mishra said Cherian was scheduled to start his assessment on Wednesday. "But his visit had to be cancelled following the bandh call," Mishra said.
"Dr Cherian is expected to prepare the stage at the unit by giving guidance and training a team for conducting practical liver transplantation," Mishra said.
