Plastic tube removed from 70-yr-old’s liver

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 17

A 70-year-old woman got a new lease of life after a migrated plastic tube was removed from her liver through endoscopy, by a local doctor. Dr Hameed Raina, gastroenterologist and hepatologist consultant at Ivy Hospital, who performed the procedure, said the patient had reached the hospital with severe pain and also complained of vomiting in the upper abdomen area.

He said, “On evaluation, a migrated plastic T-tube was found placed in the right hepatic duct. This tube was placed during patient’s previous surgery for gall bladder and common bile duct stones.” He added that usually the tube moves downwards and it automatically gets removed from the body. But in this case, it had moved in the opposite direction and had gone up, he said adding that the situation had posed a threat to the life of the elderly.

Dr Hameed said, “It was very complicated and challenging due to various reasons and we decided to remove it endoscopically.” This kind of procedure is usually done by expert gastroenterologists and endoscopists in metropolitian cities which have advanced medical infrastructure and equipment.