3-Year-Old Fights Extreme Cholesterol, Gets New Life

A three-year-old child was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences with dangerously high cholesterol levels, over 850 units, five times the recommended amount. This severe condition was caused by homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH), a rare genetic disorder affecting approximately one in 5 lakh individuals. The child's body was unable to properly remove 'bad' cholesterol, leading to its dangerous accumulation.

Medical teams customized a therapeutic plasma exchange protocol for the 9 kg child, as standard treatments were either unsuitable for her age or prohibitively expensive. Over 20 weeks, she underwent 20 transfusions, with her blood being processed to remove cholesterol-rich plasma and replaced with a suitable fluid. This intensive treatment successfully reduced her cholesterol levels to near normal.

This case represents one of the youngest reported in India to undergo serial plasma exchange for HoFH. It highlights the efficacy of advanced therapeutic apheresis for children with complex rare disorders when conventional treatments are insufficient. The institute plans to transition the child to oral drug therapy to maintain her improved health status.