Texas Children’s Hospital Reaches Milestone With 100th Liver Transplant

Alejandro "Alex" Sanabria recently was welcomed as the 100th liver transplant patient at Texas Children’s Hospital – a distinction no one in his family could have imagined a few weeks before.

Alex, 7, had contracted hepatitis A, a liver disease caused by a virus of the same name. When brought to his doctor, Alex’s mother, Martha Sanabria, was told there was no medication to treat the condition and to let the disease run its course.

"Unfortunately, Alex was not getting better," she recalled. "He was turning yellow and his mood changed. He became very irritable, which isn’t normal for him."

The Lufkin, Texas youngster was rushed to a local hospital. As his condition deteriorated, medical personnel called hospitals in Louisiana and Texas to see which institution could best treat Alex. When Texas Children’s received a call, its staff made arrangements to transport Alex to Houston using Texas Children’s "Kangaroo Crew," an intensive-care transport team who traveled by plane and ambulance.

"This was my first time in a plane, my child was sick and it was storming outside," Sanabria said. "But the pilot and crew were wonderful. They did a good job of trying to comfort me."

Alex was unresponsive when he arrived at Texas Children’s and had gone into acute liver failure.

"We were able to stabilize him, but his liver was so badly damaged it was beyond recovery," said Jaymee Scott, liver transplant coordinator with Texas Children’s Liver Center. "Alex needed a liver transplant to live."

Compatibility testing soon began on Alex’s dad and other family members to find a suitable liver. Although Alex’s dad wasn’t able to be a donor, his uncle was a good match.

"Luis had all the tests and was ready, but then we were told they had found another liver," Sanabria said. "Alex was taken into surgery and was there for six hours. When the doctors saw how black his liver was, they knew he couldn’t survive without a transplant."

Dr. John Goss, who performed the split-liver transplant along with Dr. Murat Kilic, a liver surgeon fellow, said Alex is expected to do fine.

"He’ll require medication and the usual follow-up, but he should recover completely," Dr. Goss said.

Alex’s grandmother, Juanita Maldonado, called Dr. Goss "the best."

"All the doctors were very good," Maldonado said. "Everyone did a wonderful job. In fact, a day after the surgery Alex was up watching cartoons."

Sanabria said she’s thankful for the prayers and wishes sent by family, friends, Alex’s school and the Lufkin community. She also is grateful for her son’s recovery.

"I’m very pleased with the care Alex received," she said. "My son was almost gone, and they gave him back to me. I really thought I was going to lose him."

Alex progressed so well he was discharged just seven days after his transplant.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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