Dr.Ilango Sethu - Royal Care Hospitals

Dr. Ilango Sethu is a senior transplant and hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon with advanced fellowship training in pediatric liver transplantation and abdominal multiorgan transplantation. He has extensive experience in adult and pediatric liver transplantation, complex hepatobiliary surgery, and renal transplantation. His clinical work combines technical innovation, program development, and context-appropriate transplant care, including optimization of marginal donor grafts and challenging graft-recipient size mismatch. His special focus includes complex adult and pediatric liver transplantation, liver transplant oncology, machine perfusion, and transplant surgery in high-risk settings.

Academic Qualification

MBBS – Madurai Medical College
MS (General Surgery) – Medical College, Trivandrum
MCh (GI and HPB Surgery) – Madras Medical College
ASTS Abdominal Multiorgan Transplant Fellowship – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, USA
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS)
Advanced Pediatric Liver Transplant Fellowship – National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD), Tokyo, Japan

Adult Liver Transplantation

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT)
Deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT)
Reduced liver allografts in small-frame patients
Machine perfusion in liver transplantation
Liver transplantation for liver cancer
Liver transplantation in Budd-Chiari syndrome
Shunt Surgery in portal hypertension - interposition C type mesocaval and selective shunts
Marginal donor graft optimization in liver transplantation with hypothermic oxygenated perfusion
Complex hepatobiliary and transplant surgery

Pediatric Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation in babies weighing less than 5 kg
Monosegment graft liver transplantation
Liver transplantation for biliary atresia
Pediatric acute liver failure
Neonatal acute liver failure
Urea cycle defects
Glycogen storage diseases
Alagille syndrome with midaortic syndrome
Technical innovation in graft reduction and implantation for small infants
Complex metabolic liver disease requiring transplantation

Leadership and Consultant Roles

Head, Liver Transplant Surgery – Royal Care Superspecialty Hospital, Coimbatore
Head of GI Surgery – Kauvery Hospital, Chennai
Head of GI and Transplant Surgery – Kauvery Hospital, Chennai
Senior Consultant, HPB and Liver Transplant Surgery – Fortis Hospital, BG Road, Bangalore
Senior Consultant, HPB and Solid Organ Transplant Surgery – MIOT Hospital, Chennai
Head of GI Surgery and Solid Organ Transplant Surgery – Naruvi Hospital, Vellore

Professional Experience in Transplantation

Total liver transplant experience: 252 cases
Total renal and pancreas transplant experience: 12 years
Independently performed renal transplants: 375
Performed the only successful renal transplantation in a patient with Bombay blood group
Longest successful series of pediatric renal transplantation in Tamilnadu with 100% technical success Technical and Program Development Contributions
Developed the dual venous outflow technique for large-for-size grafts
Developed locally suitable hypothermic perfusion protocols for marginal donor grafts to optimize outcomes in liver transplantation
Python based structured decision making in pediatric metabolic diseases

Dr. Ilango Sethu has contributed to academic surgery through clinical publications, conference presentations, surgical audits, and outcomes-based research. His academic work reflects a strong interest in technical refinement, practice improvement, cost-conscious innovation, and management strategies suited to real-world surgical environments.

Publications and Presentations

Inflammatory pseudotumor of liver secondary to migrated fishbone: a rare cause with an unusual presentation Annals of Gastroenterology, 2012
Shetty S, Sethu I, Srinivasan UP, Neelamegam K. Anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas with osteoclastic differentiation – a giant bone to chew Abstract published in the Proceedings of the Asian-Pacific Digestive Week (APDW), Hong Kong, 2017 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation / John Wiley & Sons, 2017
A novel method of pharyngocolic anastomosis for high pharyngeal stricture ASICON Tamil Nadu Chapter, Kanyakumari, 2010
Comparison of two methods of dye injection for the detection of sentinel lymph nodes in gastric cancer Special mention poster, IASGCON, Hyderabad, 2010
Proximal spread of esophageal cancer on subtotal esophagectomy specimens Poster, IASGCON, Hyderabad, 2010
Malignancy in corrosive strictures of the esophagus Poster, IASGCON, Mumbai, 2009
Pancreatic ascites: a case series from a single tertiary care unit Oral presentation, ASICON South India, Bangalore, 2009
Comparison of hand-sewn and semi-mechanical stapled anastomosis in cervical esophagogastric anastomosis following transhiatal esophagectomy Oral presentation, ASICON Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Chapter, 2007
Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma, SRM Medical College
A tale of 2 HATs - why we should attempt graft salvage in early hepatic artery thrombosis Single center experience.
100 liver transplants in a single center - what are the lessons learnt? TNSGEA Presentation.
Extra anatomic hepatic artery reconstuction in damaged recipient hepatic artery in living donor liver transplantation Single center experience

Research and Academic Work

Audit of acute pancreatitis management in secondary care in South Chennai Completed. Audit findings were used to improve acute pancreatitis management in resource-limited settings.
Impact of a nurse-administered checklist in the management of acute pancreatitis Study evaluating the use of a structured checklist to improve implementation of acute pancreatitis management.
Proximal intramural spread of carcinoma of the esophagus Completed. This work examined proximal intramural spread to define resection margins in advanced T3 esophageal cancer. Mean intramural spread was about 1 cm from the tumor edge, with no skip lesions identified.
Two methods of dye injection to study the mapping of lymph nodes in gastric cancer Completed. Subserosal methylene blue was found to be simpler and less costly to implement than submucosal India ink.
Intermittent administration of supplementary enzymes for the management of steatorrhea associated with chronic pancreatitis in South Indian patients in resource-limited situations
Injuries leading to death in patients with road traffic accidents in the first week after injury in a teaching hospital
Comparison of semi-mechanical CEGA and hand-sewn CEGA after transhiatal esophagectomy

Professional societies

Dr. Ilango Sethu is actively engaged in academic surgery, transplant education, and multidisciplinary surgical collaboration.

Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS)
ASTS fellowship-trained in abdominal multiorgan transplantation
Liver transplant Society of India life member
International liver transplant society membership
Association of surgeons of India, Life member
Indian Association of Surgical Gastroenterology, Life member
Indian Association of Surgical Oncology, Life member
Indian Medical Association, Life member
Moderator, Learning General surgery group
Active participation in academic and professional meetings in gastrointestinal surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, and transplantation

Name	Dr. Ilango Sethu Consultant - HPB and Abdominal Multi-Organ Transplant Surgeon
Department	Liver Transplantation Unit
Degree	MS, MCh (GI and HPB Surgery), ASTS Multiorgan Transplant Fellowship (USA), Pediatric Liver Transplant Fellowship (Japan), FACS