GUWAHATI: Simashree Lahkar, an 18-year-old girl from Changsari, Kamrup presented to G.I surgery department at Narayana super speciality hospital with a repeated history of pain abdomen and jaundice. She was evaluated and found to have a very rare disease ‘Oriental Cholangiohepatitis’. This disease is mostly seen in southeast Asia with a very low incidence in India, even more rarer in northeastern states.
This disease is characterized by the presence of multiple stones in the biliary tract and liver with strictures of biliary ducts.
She underwent a major abdominal surgery where her diseased bile duct was removed with the removal of all stones in the extra and intrahepatic bile ducts and biliary reconstruction. The surgery was performed by consultant surgical gastroenterologist Dr. Digvijoy Sharma and Dr. Syed Wasim, consultant urologist. The surgeons used an innovative technique of using a nephroscope used to remove kidney stones, to enter into the liver ducts to remove the stones under vision. Dr. Imdad Hussain and Dr. Swapnil Verma were the expert anesthetists during the surgery.
The patient had an uneventful perioperative period and was discharged on the fifth postoperative day in good health.
Dr. Digvijoy Sharma later commented that these are challenging cases due to the rarity and the difficulty in removing the stones from within the liver. The reconstruction of the biliary tract is also challenging.
The Surgical Gastroenterology department headed by Dr. Digvijoy Sharma routinely performs complex gastrointestinal cases along with major G.I cancer surgeries.
The department has recently launched free G.I oncology clinic every Thursday at Narayana super speciality hospital for the benefit of cancer patients.
