KIMS doctors save 26-year-old woman without liver transplant in rare case

Doctors at KIMS Hospitals in Hyderabad successfully treated a 26-year-old woman with rare liver failure caused by Weber-Christian disease without a transplant. Advanced immunotherapy and critical care helped her recover fully, and she has now resumed a normal life.

Hyderabad: Doctors at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospitals on Monday announced successful treatment of a 26-year-old woman from Hyderabad suffering from a rare and life-threatening liver complication caused by Weber-Christian Disease.

The treatment was taken up without performing a liver transplant, despite international medical criteria indicating an urgent need for transplantation, Dr Sarath Chandra Mouli Veeravalli, Clinical Director, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, and Dr K N Chandan Kumar, Director, Hepatology and Transplant Hepatology, said.

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Weber-Christian disease is a rare autoimmune disorder characterised by inflammation of the fatty tissues beneath the skin.

The patient was brought to KIMS Hospitals in critical condition, and within days, she developed grade-4 hepatic encephalopathy, a dangerous condition in which severe liver failure affects brain function.

The patient was placed on ventilator support, measures were taken to control brain swelling, and extracorporeal liver support was provided through plasmapheresis, the press release said.

The patient was treated with pulse steroids and advanced immunomodulatory therapy. At a critical stage, doctors administered Anakinra, an IL-1 receptor antagonist, which had been specially imported from abroad as it was not readily available in India.

Following treatment, the patient’s inflammation gradually reduced, and liver function began to improve. She was later shifted out of the ICU and eventually discharged in stable condition. The patient is currently leading a normal life and remains under regular medical follow-up.