Every sixth liver disease case in country reported from UP

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh faces an acute shortage of expert liver transplant surgeons. As a result, more than 4,000 patients from the state have to head to higher centers in the metros.
Sharing this fact here on Saturday, chairman of a prominent hospital chain and liver surgery specialist Dr AS Soin called for prevention of liver diseases which affect about 25% of Indian population."Every seventh patient I operate upon is from UP," he said.
"Nearly two lakh people in India die of terminal liver disease and cancer every year. Of these, 25,000 can be saved by liver transplants. At least one-sixth of these cases come from UP," he said.
As of now, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of medical sciences is the only medical center in UP where liver transplant facility was started. However, the outcomes remain disheartening as over 90% of the procedures undertaken remain unsuccessful.
Senior consultants in Dr Soin's team -- Dr Neeraj Saraf and Dr Amit Rastogi -- said cirrhosis and liver failure are the main reason for liver transplants in UP. "About 70% of the patients suffer because of alcoholic liver disease which can be prevented by restricting one's alcohol intake," said Dr Saraf.
Dr Rastogi added that sedentary lifestyle was another big reason for liver diseases. "Lack of exercise, fatty food, diabetes and high cholestrol are causing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease which accounts for 20-30 % of patients."