More than a year of traveling everywhere for treatment, meeting many leading doctors in major hospitals, Mr. Le Van Viet (41 years old, lives in Son Tay, Hanoi) only received a "shake of head" with diagnosis of advanced Liver Cancer that cannot be operated on, but can only provide palliative care. Like a miracle, the liver transplant at Vinmec in August 2018 really reincarnated for Mr. Viet. The transplant not only cured him of his illness, but really freed him from the "death row", confirming exactly that he had the Cirrhosis of the liver, not liver cancer as previously diagnosis.
On September 26, Mr. Viet and his wife went to Vinmec Times City International Hospital for a re-examination after 1.5 months of liver transplant surgery, and 1.5 months after Nguyen Thi Thanh donated nearly 2/3 of her liver for her husband. Doctors said that Mrs. Thanh's liver had recovered 8/10 of its original volume. The new liver in Mr. Viet's body has adapted, growing twice its original volume. Both he and his wife are healthy, the tests’ results are normal.
Knowing the good test results, Mr. Le Van Viet happily thanked Professor Chu and the doctors of Vinmec Hepatobiliary Medicine Center by showing a photo taken 3 months ago with yellow skin, a big belly like an 8 month pregnant woman. Mr. Viet now looks different: Fresh, ruddy skin, gained weight but has a very small belly - signs of a healthy body.
"Having happiness like today is worth all the hard work, because my husband has met miracles and surprises" - Mrs. Thanh shared. Living with cirrhosis since 2015, but in September 2017, Mr. Le Van Viet showed signs of fatigue, poor appetite, yellow skin, dark urine. He was diagnosed with advanced multifocal Liver Cancer, and there was no indication for surgery because of severe disease, only palliative care or liver transplantation could be considered. The family was in trouble and could not afford the transplant surgery, so he had to go home to rest and get palliative care.
Loving her husband, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thanh, Mr. Viet's wife still hopes and searches for any chances. Fortunately, when she found that the Thien Tam Fund of Vingroup supports poor patients with liver transplants, Mr. Viet went to the Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Center, Vinmec Times City International Hospital for examination and treatment.
Professor Chu Chong Woo - Director of the Center said that Mr.'s liver disease was severe, his blood clotting function was poor, and he could not have a liver biopsy, so it would be difficult to confirm the cancer diagnosis and treatment.
What GS Chu especially pays attention to is that the blood test PIVKA II which can assess the ability of Liver Cancer of Mr. Viet very high. Before that, Mr. Viet had used a number of traditional medicines, which could have falsified the results of PIVKA II. In addition, the tumors that are considered cancerous have not changed over the months, and the AFP level in the blood test is normal.
Based on those data, Prof. Chu made a diagnosis of "backstream" completely different from previous diagnoses: Most likely this is end stage cirrhosis, and the chance of cancer is very low. In this case, liver transplant is still the only method of treatment. However, with caution, Prof. Chu assessed that Mr. Viet's condition was poor, with severe disease, so a liver transplant could potentially be complicated, and the rate of complications and complications would increase.
In June 2018, Mr. Viet discovered an abscess on the right side of the kidney that was 10 x 7cm large. A month later, when Mr. Viet was able to remove the abscess, his health was more stable, and he could live on his own, Professor Chu decided that he was ready for a liver transplant. In particular, the liver donor is Mr. Viet's wife - Nguyen Thi Thanh has test parameters within safe limits and can donate liver to her husband.
Mrs. Thanh recalls: “Coming to the decision to donate liver, both my husband and I spent many sleepless nights. Family with difficult circumstances, 2 young children are studying in primary and junior high school. Even my relatives objected to this decision of donation because the previous leading doctor had also rejected my husband’s case. There is a risk that liver donation is useless, and in the early stages I can't take care of my baby until my health has recovered. But after a period of medical examination with Professor Chu - who always examines and considers carefully before deciding on a treatment method, I am very reassured and determined to treat to the end."
On August 8, 2018, with careful preparation, the doctors of Vinmec Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Center performed a liver transplant with a liver piece of more than 400g, equivalent to nearly 60% of the liver volume taken from his wife for Mr. Viet. After 2 weeks of transplantation, the function of the new liver was working well.
However, that was still not the greatest joy for him. Test results of liver tumor resection confirmed Prof. Chu's statement: Mr. Viet does not have Liver Cancer but Cirrhosis. Therefore, the liver transplant has completely cured the disease, eliminating his health concerns. His job right now is just to rest assured, take anti-rejection drugs exactly as prescribed to fully recover.
Nearly 3 weeks after the transplant, Mr. Viet was discharged from the hospital in the happiness of the whole family. In particular, the two young daughters - "special warriors" who have silently supported their parents for more than a year by being obedient, taking care of the housework, and studying hard are also present to welcome their father.
For Professor Chu, the picture he took with Mr. Viet’s family in happiness and the thank you letter in English that Le Nguyen Uyen Nhi - their eldest daughter gave him, will be an emotional and unforgettable memory.
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