On the mend: Prof Noor Azuan with the infant and his parents. The child is the youngest liver transplant recipient in the country.
PETALING JAYA: New operating theatres are set to be added at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) following a successful liver transplant involving a four-month-old baby.
UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman said the expansion of operating theatres will be accompanied by strengthened infrastructure, critical care facilities and support systems for specialist medical teams.
“This commitment will ensure UM’s doctors, surgeons, nurses and allied health professionals continue to be empowered with the best facilities and support, enabling them to serve the people, save lives and contribute positively to the well-being of society and the nation,” he said in a statement on Monday.
According to UMMC director Prof Dr Mohd Zulkiflee Abu Bakar, the infant, who weighed 6.2kg at the time of surgery in November last year, is the youngest liver transplant recipient in the country.
“The baby suffered acute liver failure and collapsed minutes before the operation was due to begin, requiring more than an hour of intensive resuscitation in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
“After the team successfully stabilised him, a bold and critical clinical decision was made to proceed with the surgery – a decision that ultimately saved his life,” he said.
Prof Noor Azuan said he had visited the infant and met his parents, adding that the case was not only a clinical success but also an example of how UM’s research excellence translates into real-world impact.
The clinical approach and treatment framework used were based on research findings published in the international journal Pediatric Surgery International.
“These research outcomes have been referenced and adopted globally, and have now proven successful through clinical implementation at UMMC,” he said.
The baby’s father, Tan Hock Siong, thanked UMMC staff for their efforts, as the infant remains under close specialist monitoring.
Prof Noor Azuan’s announcement of the new operating theatres came during a special appreciation ceremony to honour the leadership of the UMMC liver transplant team, including UM liver transplant team chairman and senior consultant hepatobiliary surgeon Assoc Prof Dr Koh Peng Soon; UM paediatric surgeon senior consultant Prof Shireen Anne Nah Han Yien; UM paediatric gastroenterology consultant Dr Chew Kee Seang; UM paediatrics (paediatric intensive care) consultant Dr Chuah Soo Lin; UM anaesthesiology senior consultant Prof Ina Ismiarti Shariffuddin; UM plastic surgery senior consultant Prof Alizan Abdul Khalil; and UM radiology senior consultant Prof Anushya Vijayananthan.
They represent the core leadership of more than 45 multidisciplinary team members across hepatobiliary and paediatric surgery, plastic surgery, anaesthesiology, adult and paediatric intensive care, paediatric gastroenterology and hepatology, nursing, radiology, as well as the Blood Bank and Pathology units.
A solemn tribute was also paid to the late Adjunct Assoc Prof Dr Yoong Boon Koon, pioneer of liver transplant services at UMMC and founder and head of the liver transplant team in 2017.
Despite moving to the private sector, Dr Yoong continued to return to UMMC on a pro bono basis to support transplant surgeries until his passing at the age of 54.
Prof Noor Azuan said Dr Yoong’s legacy lives on in every life saved and every clinician he inspired.
