Siddaganga Mutt seer likely to undergo liver bypass surgery

Bengaluru: Dr Shivakumara Swami, the 111-year-old pontiff of Siddaganga Mutt who was airlifted to Chennai on Friday, December 7 is more likely to undergo a liver bypass surgery on Saturday as the stenting procedures have not helped contain the infection in his bile duct. 

As per the sources liver transplant expert Dr Mohamed Rela of Dr Rela Insitute and Medical Centre, Chromepet, Chennai will condudt the seer’s surgery. 

The Swamiji had withstood the stenting procedures and had recovered from illness for a couple of years, but this time the infection could not be contained through stenting and we managed to check it with antibiotics, informed Dr Ravindra B S, Chief of Medical Gastroenterology at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals in Kengeri, Bengaluru.

He further added that if the seer does not undergo surgery, then the seer would have to carry an external bag to help with the collection of the bile juice to contain the infection.

De Rela, had set a record by conducting a successful liver transplant on a five-day-old baby two decades ago. Now, he will be dealing with a 111-year-old saint. 

On December 1 the seer had undergone a surgery wherein stents were implanted to his liver tube at the BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals in Bengaluru and was discharged recently. However, he is frequently developing an infection with symptoms of fever ever since he underwent stent implantation for the first time in 2016. 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has said that the state government would bear all the medical expenses of the Swamiji.