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Surgeon Juan Carlos Garcia-Valdecasas, who led Eric Abidal's liver transplant surgery on April 10, does not believe that the Frenchman will have to hang up his boots. "It depends on him. Of course, we will have to wait a long time, but I am not saying it's impossible. If everything goes well, Eric's condition will allow him to play," the doctor said on the Spanish TV3 show.
Garcia-Valdecasas' statement gives hope that the "Barcelona" defender will return to the field: "The liver is an organ that regenerates in three months. Eric's rehabilitation must be gradual, but within 3-6 months or a year after the operation, the patient can return to a normal life rhythm. The first three months must be very cautious. You must even avoid contact with people to avoid any infection," Garcia-Valdecasas explained. "During his whole treatment, Abidal was very energetic, never complaining. His mindset is very positive."
The surgeon who operated on the Frenchman was the first in Spain in 2000 to perform a living donor liver transplant operation. "The disease was diagnosed a year ago during a routine check-up. Since then, we have done various tests to accurately determine the liver damage – both with ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. His condition was such that transplantation was inevitable," the specialist briefly described Abidal's medical history.
An entire team of thirty doctors operated on the football player. The surgeon admitted that the operation was complex because they had to operate on two people – the donor and the recipient. "Every operation has a certain risk, but this time it was minimal," Garcia-Valdecasas said.
Abidal's donor was his half-brother Gerard, who donated a portion of his liver – "About 800 grams," the surgeon said. According to him, the donor also takes risks – even more than the recipient.
Garcia-Valdecasas also talked about the pressure the entire team felt during Abidal's treatment. "The whole world was watching us, so the pressure was felt by the entire team," the surgeon said.
He stated that 95 out of 100 patients survive such operations. The doctor also assured that Abidal was treated like any other patient, even though he is a "global star." "The operation was performed earlier than for other patients because he had his own donor," Garcia-Valdecasas confirmed.
