Louie gets transplant after dad's liver given all-clear
Filipino boy Louie Adrielle Perez was well on the way to getting a new liver late last night - received from his father in a marathon 17-hour double operation at Queen Mary Hospital.
A surgeon told the seven-year-old's mother, Mary Jean, about 7pm that the operation on Ernanie 'Bong' Perez, 27, to remove part of his liver for his eldest son had just been completed and doctors were transplanting it into Louie.
'The doctor told me that Bong is OK but he has yet to be moved out of the operating theatre. Louie's operation is still going on,' said Mrs Perez, 26, who had kept a vigil outside the operating theatres since her husband and son went into surgery at 8am. 'I have not left this seat. I have not eaten. I cannot feel hunger pangs.'
At 10pm she was told her husband had been taken to the recovery ward and was doing well. Surgeons were still operating on Louie at 1am today.
The transplant was delayed for three weeks after a biopsy showed Mr Perez's liver contained too much fat and he would have to lose more weight. The 1.65-metre Mr Perez has lost 3kg since mid July after having lost 12kg since 2004 when, at 75kg, he was diagnosed as having a fatty liver.
Vanessa De Villa, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Hong Kong, said a liver function test yesterday showed the father's liver was functioning well and so surgeons went ahead with the transplant surgery.
