Siriraj Hospital conducts successful intestine transplant
Siriraj Hospital has been successful in carrying out an intestine transplant for the first time in Thailand at a cost of 1.8 million baht under the universal healthcare scheme.
Dr Prasit Watanapa, Siriraj Hospital’s dean of the Faculty of Medicine, said on Tuesday the female patient who received the transplant of the intestines and other abdominal organs did not experience severe side effects for a year since the surgery, and the hospital therefore considered the transplant successful.
“Intestine transplant surgery is a delicate procedure that has a high risk of complications post-operation and is therefore not a preferred treatment,” he pointed out.
“Even the United States, a country which performs the most transplants in the world, sees only 200 intestine transplants per year.”
Prasit said the cost of surgery and follow-up treatment is around 1.8 million baht. The surgery takes around seven hours, after which the patient needs to stay in ICU for five days or until he/she can eat solid food again. After a month of post-op rehabilitation at the hospital, the patient can go home and resume a normal life.
“Although intestine transplant surgery is covered under the government’s universal healthcare scheme (formerly the 30 baht healthcare scheme), the surgery cannot happen without organ donation,” Prasit made clear.
“Before receiving the transplant on April 2 last year, our patient had been on the organ waiting list for almost two years after she suffered short-bowel syndrome as a result of a previous surgery at another hospital back in 2018.”
Prasit added that Siriraj Hospital also has independent funds for organ transplant surgeries in case they are not covered under the universal healthcare scheme, ranging from 100,000 to 1 million baht, depending on the type of surgery.