6-month-old, Asia’s youngest, operated for rare bleeding disorder

GURGAON - For the first time in Asia, doctors at a private hospital here successfully operated - by a liver transplant - on a six-month-old child suffering from a rare bleeding disorder.

Tavish Jain of Mumbai, treated in the Medanta-Medicity Hospital here for rare bleeding disorder “Factor VII deficiency”, became the youngest to have undergone such a surgery.

“Tavish suffered a rare disorder in which he started bleeding suddenly creating a life-threatening situation,” A.S. Soin, chief surgeon and chairman of Medanta Institute of Liver Transplantation said.

The baby suffered from bleeding under his skin, and in brain and kidneys before specialists could diagnose his disorder - Factor VII deficiency. This factor, normally produced in the liver, is essential for normal clotting of blood.

“Liver transplant was the only option but there were many complications. The child needed only 150 gms of liver and the smallest removable portion from her mother was 300 gms. That would have to be pruned which would leave many raw surfaces on it making it more liable to bleed,” Soin said.

Factor VII deficiency is a rare disorder which occurs one in 500,000 births. It has almost always been fatal in the past due to difficulties in diagnosing and treating it.

Patients would die either from sudden rapid bleeding of undiagnosed cause or be faced with the impossible commitment of taking Factor VII injections for life.