May 20, 1999 Media Contact: Kate Deely (619)543-6163
SAN DIEGO’S FIRST PEDIATRIC LIVER TRANSPLANT PATIENT DISCHARGED FROM UCSD
MEDICAL CENTER
Karla Ortega, the 18-month-old girl who received part of her father’s
liver earlier this month, is going home.
Both the baby and her father are recovering nicely, according to UCSD Healthcare
surgeons who performed the historic operation. The procedure, which took place on May 6,
was the first pediatric liver transplant performed south of Los Angeles, and the
region’s first living-related pediatric liver transplant.
"Both patients have recovered remarkably," said Ajai Khanna, M.D.,
UCSD’s director of pediatric abdominal transplantation and transplantation research
who was the lead the surgeon for Karla’s transplant. "This case sets the scene
for helping out many pediatric liver patients in the future from throughout the
region."
Karla was admitted to UCSD Medical Center, Hillcrest on April 30 and was diagnosed with
idiopathic fulminant hepatic failure (rapid-onset liver failure of an unknown cause). A
biopsy performed by Joel Lavine, M.D., UCSD’s director of pediatric hepatology,
revealed that 90 percent of her liver was dead. Because a donor liver from a deceased
person was not available and Karla was in desperate need of a transplant, Karla’s
father, Carlos Brito Aranda, chose to donate a portion of his liver.
Aranda’s left lateral lobe, which is the smallest of the liver’s three lobes,
was transplanted into Karla. This was about 15 percent of his liver, said Marquis Hart,
M.D., UCSD director of abdominal transplantation surgery who was the lead surgeon in
Aranda’s procedure. "They have been doing very well and have had a perfect
course of recovery," Dr. Hart said. "Karla’s liver will continue to grow
with her, eventually reaching the size of a full-grown adult liver."
This case has been a milestone for UCSD Healthcare and the surgical and medical teams
involved, as well as the surrounding community, according to Dr. Lavine. "As a
teaching hospital we are fortunate to be able to offer this sort of specialized,
leading-edge treatment, so San Diego patients have the benefit of advanced treatment and
technology, without leaving the area," Dr. Lavine said.
Approximately 450 pediatric liver transplants are performed each year, and of those,
about 50 are from living related donors. There are only five centers nationwide performing
pediatric liver transplants from living-related donors.
UCSD Healthcare has been performing liver transplants for 6 years. "Now, doing
pediatric liver transplants is a natural extension of our existing program," Dr. Hart
said. Along with the liver transplant program, UCSD’s heart, lung, kidney, and
kidney-pancreas transplant programs combine to make the UCSD Transplant Center the most
comprehensive organ transplant program south of Los Angeles.
