GMCH Guwahati completes 100 complex liver, pancreas surgeries

Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has completed 100 complex hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgeries under its Liver Transplant and HPB Programme, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Wednesday, November 11, according to The Sentinel.

HPB surgery covers operations on the liver, bile ducts, gall bladder, pancreas and nearby organs. These are among the most demanding procedures in surgery and, until recently, patients from the North East often had to travel to private hospitals in big cities for them.

What the 100 procedures include

According to the figures shared, the 100 operations were made up of:

• 64 liver and biliary surgeries
• 17 pancreatic procedures
• 12 spleen operations
• 7 other complex HPB cases

After the first liver transplant

The milestone comes a few weeks after a GMCH team led by Dr Senthil Kumar carried out a liver transplant in a roughly 16-hour operation, described as the first successful liver transplant at a government hospital in the North East. The recipient, a 48-year-old man from Kamrup Metropolitan district, received part of a liver donated by his younger sister.

Health Minister Ashok Singhal called it a historic first for a government facility in the region. With it, The Sentinel reported, GMCH joined a small group of about 10 state-run medical colleges in India that can perform liver transplants.

Why it matters

Sarma said bringing complex, life-saving care to Assam's public hospitals is part of a larger plan for healthcare in the state. The programme's growth also matters for training. Building a team that can handle a steady volume of HPB cases, from surgeons and anaesthetists to intensive care staff, is what allows a hospital to take on transplants regularly rather than as one-off events. A caseload of 100 procedures gives GMCH's team the experience that such complex work demands.

Having the procedures available at a government hospital in Guwahati can save families the cost and strain of travelling to distant private centres for treatment.

The hospital has not yet said how many liver transplants it plans to carry out each year, or whether the procedures will be covered under state health schemes. NEInsider will update this story if the health department shares those details.

Patients seeking HPB treatment at GMCH should consult the hospital's surgery department for referral and appointment details.