Japanese Heat-Stroke Victim Aided by Rare Liver Transplant

Japanese surgeons report they have successfully performed a rare liver transplant designed to save the life of a person whose organs were failing as a result of heat stroke.

The operation was performed on a 16-year-old high school student who had collapsed during sports training. His temperature rose to more than 107 degrees.

Serious heatstroke patients sometimes fall into a coma and die from failure of such organs as the brain, liver or kidneys.

In an effort to save the boy's life, his mother offered to give the boy part of her liver. Following the transplant, the boy's liver function has almost returned to normal, but he remains hospitalized because his kidneys have not yet fully recovered, doctors said.

"I think we have paved the way for treatment of serious heatstroke patients," said Hiroshi Hiai, professor at the university's medical faculty.

Doctors said only three other heatstroke patients are known to have undergone similar transplant surgery: one in France and two in the United States. Those patients died of complications between 10 days and 11 months of their surgery.

Other Sources: Mainichi Daily News, The Japan Times