First Liver Transplant in Coimbatore

VGM Hospital Achieves Historic Milestone: Performs First Liver Transplant in Coimbatore's Premier Centre

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu — In a landmark achievement that marks a new chapter in the city's medical history, VGM Hospital — India's first NABH-accredited gastroenterology super-specialty centre — has successfully performed its first liver transplant, bringing world-class transplant care to the heart of Coimbatore.

A Milestone Decades in the Making

Founded and guided by the vision of Dr. V.G. Mohan Prasad, Gastroenterologist, Hepatologist, Therapeutic Endoscopist, and Founder & Chairman of VGM Gastro Centre, the hospital has long been recognized as a pioneer in digestive and liver care across South India.

The successful liver transplant is a natural and defining next step in that journey — one made possible in large part by the arrival of Dr. Mithra Prasad, Consultant Hepatologist, whose expertise and drive were instrumental in conceptualising, establishing, and operationalising the liver transplant programme at VGM.

Dr. Mithra Prasad worked closely with the surgical and critical care teams to build the clinical protocols, donor evaluation pathways, and multidisciplinary frameworks that made this first DDLT a reality.

"This is not just a surgical milestone — it is the culmination of our commitment to ensuring that patients in Coimbatore and the broader Kongu region do not have to travel to Chennai or beyond for life-saving treatment. Our dream has always been to make the highest standards of care available and affordable here at home."

— Dr. V.G. Mohan Prasad

The First Deceased Donor Liver Transplant

The procedure, a Deceased Donor Liver Transplant (DDLT), was carried out by VGM's dedicated HPB (Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary) Surgery and Liver Transplant team under the leadership of Dr. Anand Bharathan, Consultant HPB and Liver Transplant Surgeon, bringing to fruition years of meticulous planning, infrastructure development, and clinical preparation.

The Surgical & Clinical Team

The transplant was made possible by a multidisciplinary team of specialists working in seamless coordination across surgery, hepatology, critical care, anaesthesia, and nephrology.

Liver Transplant Surgery

Dr. Anand Bharathan, MS, DNB, FMAS, MBA — Consultant HPB and Liver Transplant Surgeon (Adult & Paediatric); trained at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, with a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Liver Transplant from Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore. Dr. Bharathan heads the Advanced HPB Surgery division at VGM and brings over a decade of specialized experience to the programme.

Dr. Jayapal, Senior Consultant Surgeon, HPB, GI Surgery and Liver Transplantation — A highly accomplished surgical specialist who brings to VGM's transplant team the combined rigor of two of India's most prestigious medical institutions.

Dr. Jayapal completed his postgraduate surgical training at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh, before pursuing his higher surgical training in Surgical Gastroenterology, HPB Surgery, and Liver Transplantation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi — a centre internationally recognised for its transplant programme.

Currently serving as Senior Consultant at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, Coimbatore, Dr. Jayapal's breadth of experience across complex hepatobiliary and transplant surgery makes him a vital contributor to this milestone procedure.

Medical Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Dr. V.G. Mohan Prasad, MD, MRCP (UK), FTE, DNB Med Gastro — Founder & Chairman, VGM Gastro Centre; Gastroenterologist, Hepatologist, and Therapeutic Endoscopist with national and international recognition in the field of liver disease.

Dr. Mithra Prasad, Consultant Hepatologist — the driving force behind establishing VGM's liver transplant programme.

Dr. Mithra Prasad spearheaded the creation of the transplant pathway at VGM, from obtaining regulatory approvals and building the multidisciplinary team, to designing pre-transplant evaluation protocols and post-transplant care frameworks.

She leads the comprehensive hepatological workup for transplant candidates, oversees patient selection, medical optimisation prior to surgery, and post-transplant liver function monitoring and immunosuppression management.

Critical Care & Liver ICU

VGM's dedicated Liver ICU team, comprising specialist Consultant Intensivists and Anaesthesiologists, provided round-the-clock post-operative monitoring.

The unit is equipped with CRRT for renal failure, MARS for liver support, bedside dialysis, portable imaging, and echocardiography — among the most comprehensive post-transplant ICU setups in the region.

Transplant Anaesthesia

Dr. Prem Chandar V, MBBS, MD (Anaesthesiology) — A distinguished anaesthesiologist with deep subspecialty expertise in liver transplantation and Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary surgery.

Dr. Prem Chandar completed his foundational training at PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PSGIMSR), Coimbatore, before honing his skills under the legendary transplant team of Prof. Mohamed Rela — one of the world's foremost liver transplant surgeons.

This exposure gave him rare, hands-on mastery of the haemodynamic complexities, coagulopathy management, and vascular clamping challenges unique to liver transplant anaesthesia.

Affiliated with Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Dr. Prem Chandar brings internationally benchmarked anaesthetic expertise to every procedure, making him an indispensable pillar of VGM's transplant team.

Nephrology

Consultant Nephrologist, MRCP (UK), MRCP (Nephrology) (UK) — managing renal function and immunosuppression-related complications in the post-operative period.

Transplant Coordination

A dedicated transplant coordinator team ensured seamless communication between the donor team, recipient team, TRANSTAN (Tamil Nadu State Transplant Authority), and the hospital's organ donation cell.

What This Means for Patients

Liver transplantation is the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease — conditions such as liver cirrhosis, acute liver failure, and certain liver cancers.

India faces a significant burden of liver disease driven by hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcohol-related liver disease, and the rising tide of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Until now, patients in and around Coimbatore seeking liver transplants had to rely on distant centres in Chennai, Bengaluru, or beyond — a journey that comes with significant financial strain, logistical challenges, and precious loss of time for critically ill patients.

Complete Liver Care Closer to Home

With VGM Hospital now offering deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT), patients across Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Pollachi, and the Nilgiris have access to a complete liver care pathway — from diagnosis, through medical management and surgical intervention, to post-transplant follow-up — all under one roof.

A DDLT, made possible through the noble act of organ donation from a brain-dead donor, offers the advantage of a full liver graft and is often the only option for patients without a suitable living donor.

Building on a Legacy of Firsts

VGM's liver transplant programme is part of a broader expansion that the hospital undertook in 2025, when it opened its new six-storey, 150-bed multi-specialty facility featuring a dedicated Liver ICU, dialysis centre, interventional radiology suite, and advanced cardiology unit.

The hospital is already recognized as:

• India's first NABH-accredited single super-specialty hospital in gastroenterology
• A national reference centre for complex endoscopic procedures
• A teaching and fellowship centre affiliated with Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, offering programmes in Minimal Access Surgery and Therapeutic Endoscopy

The liver transplant programme now completes VGM's vision of end-to-end hepatology care.

Looking Ahead

The team at VGM Hospital is committed to expanding the programme to include living donor liver transplants (LDLT), paediatric liver transplants, and complex re-do transplant surgeries, as the programme matures and grows.

"Every patient who walks into this hospital deserves the same quality of care available at the best centres in the world — at a cost that doesn't break their family. This first transplant is a beginning, not a destination."

— Dr. Anand Bharathan

VGM Hospital is accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) and is registered under TRANSTAN, the Transplant Authority of the Government of Tamil Nadu.