More than 10 months of searching for a chance to live for my child
On November 8, 2024, a baby girl named Thien Di (intimate name Dau) was born in the bursting happiness of the family. Ms. Vi - the baby's mother - still remembers vividly the first time she held her child in her arms: the baby weighed more than 3kg, rosy skin, round and healthy eyes.
However, that joy only lasted for a mere 40 days. When her child was over one month old, Ms. Vi noticed that the baby's skin was yellower than when she was born. Feeling something was unusual, she took her child to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for examination and was shocked to receive the bad news: The baby has congenital gallbladder atrophy - a rare disease, if not treated early, it will lead to cirrhosis and terminal liver failure.
At 3 months old, baby Di underwent Kasai surgery with the hope of "opening the bile duct" to maintain liver function. But miracles did not happen. Yellow skin did not improve, liver fibrosis quickly, and baby's health became increasingly depleted.
The first 10 months of my child's life were also 10 months when the hospital became home. There were nights when I only knew how to hug my child, praying that my child would get through tomorrow. Although the doctor's eyes were often full of worry, I never thought about letting go," Ms. Vi choked up.
In October 2025, when she was nearly 1 year old, Thien Di weighed only 5.3kg - equivalent to a 3-month-old baby. The family decided to go to Vinmec Times City International General Hospital with the ultimate hope: liver transplantation - the only option that could save her child's life.
Determining life and death and the mother's donation
After a multi-specialty consultation, doctors determined that the child had entered the stage of progressive cirrhosis, severely degraded liver function, and severe malnutrition. Liver transplantation for a lightweight child is a major challenge because the organs are small, the blood vessels are very thin, the liver is severely cirrhotic, and the risk of complications during and after surgery is high.
The donated liver source is identified as from the biological mother. The transplant requires both ensuring sufficient liver volume for the child and absolute safety for the donor.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Thanh - Deputy General Director of Surgery, Vinmec Medical System - directly performing surgery for the patient shared: This is the lightest patient we have ever performed liver transplants. Liver transplants for malnourished children, weighing only 5-6kg, are not only a challenge in the technique of connecting blood vessels, bile ducts, but also a difficult problem in anesthesia, resuscitation, blood circulation stabilization and blood clotting. Each operation must be accurate to every millimeter, requiring absolute smooth coordination between many teams.
The major surgery lasted more than 12 hours. The healthy liver from the mother was removed by endoscopy, then meticulously adjusted to suit the baby's narrow abdominal cavity. Techniques to connect the portal veins, liver arteries and bile ducts in newborns require high skills and extensive experience from surgeons.
After surgery, the transplanted liver began to function. After more than a month, the patient was out of danger. Lungs functioned normally, the transplanted liver was stable, the skin was less yellow, and weight began to increase. The patient became more alert and active.
It's a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit.
