In Lviv, a woman had to undergo a liver transplant due to COVID-19

In Lviv, specialists from the transplant center transplanted a liver to a local resident. The reason for the operation was COVID-19, which caused a rare genetic mutation.

This was reported by the Lviv Transplantation Center.

Lviv resident Iryna Chaibay contracted COVID-19 back in 2020. The woman was almost asymptomatic during the illness. But when she took tests, the number of platelets in her blood was critically high – 900 compared to the norm of 400. Hematologists then prescribed blood thinners to the patient, and her parameters returned to normal.

In 2022, the woman developed ascites — an excessive accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity — so she underwent surgery. Thatʼs when she was first diagnosed with Budd-Chiari syndrome. This is a disorder of the outflow of venous blood from the liver caused by thrombosis. To restore blood flow, the patient had a stent installed. This gave Irina two more years of peace.

Last year, the woman was hospitalized again with ascites. However, this time nothing helped. She turned to specialists at St. Panteleimon Hospital for help. They stated that the situation was already critical — the patientʼs liver cirrhosis was progressing and an organ transplant was needed.

“We found a mutation of factor V Leiden in Iryna — this is a fairly rare genetic mutation that affects blood clotting. People may not know about it their whole lives. But there are certain factors that can trigger the process. In Iryna, COVID-19 was such a factor. Because of this, she developed a rare Budd-Chiari syndrome, that is, thrombosis of the hepatic veins, which causes poor blood flow. All this irreversibly causes cirrhosis of the liver. Only transplantation is indicated for such patients,” said a transplantologist at St. Panteleimon Hospital Oleh Huziy.

When a deceased donor became available on July 8, the woman underwent a successful transplant. Two months after the operation, she is doing great.

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