At just 10 years old, Jaiden Terry, who is a type 1 diabetes patient at Children’s, and his family were already facing some difficult decisions. Jaiden was diagnosed with Abernethy malformation—a rare deformity of blood vessels that prevented his liver from processing toxins as it should. His energy levels were dropping, and treatment for his congenital condition was complicated.

Their options: consider a future liver transplant, or travel to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for complex corrective surgery which no other nearby institution could perform. With limited resources, the family’s decision to travel out of state wouldn’t be a simple one.

Thankfully, Children’s would soon welcome one of the few physicians in the country dually trained in Pediatric Surgery and Transplant Surgery—enabling Jaiden to undergo the corrective surgery right here at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. 

Since joining Children’s in December 2024 as Surgical Director of Pediatric Abdominal Transplant, Bhargava Mullapudi, MD, has brought invaluable expertise to Children’s and our patients—including the ability to perform the corrective procedure for Abernethy malformation within our halls.

Many patients with Abernethy malformation end up needing a liver transplant later in life if left undiagnosed and are susceptible to severe lung complications and recurrent infections. But if caught early enough, and you can find a surgeon with the right skills, corrective surgery can help avoid a liver transplant altogether. 

After reviewing Jaiden’s case, James Stevens, MD, a heptologist at Children’s, worked with Dr. Mullapudi to perform Children’s first-ever corrective surgery for Abernethy malformation in January at Arthur M. Blank Hospital—successfully redirecting blood flow in Jaiden’s abdomen and allowing his blood vessels to grow and increase circulation to his liver.

Within just two weeks of the surgery, Jaiden’s energy levels returned, and he was back at school to finish 6th grade. Fast forward to today—Jaden is thriving, there is no longer a liver transplant in his future, and he should be back on the football field soon to prepare for the fall season!

Dr. Mullapudi has ambitions to help more kids like Jaiden by further developing niche programs within the System. 

“We’re the biggest pediatric institution in the Southeast with more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs, and we want to continue being a destination for excellence and expand our presence regionally, if not nationally,” he said. “Growth isn’t just about numbers in my opinion. It’s about reachability and families being able to find us and come to us for specialty care that they might not be able to find elsewhere.” 

Complex cases like Jaiden’s also require close collaboration amongst care teams. Dr. Mullapudi worked together with Jaiden’s primary hepatologist, Dr. Stevens, and the hepatology team; Matt Hawkins, MD, interventional radiologist; Mihaela Alina Damian, MD, critical care physician; and numerous clinical and other support staff to ensure the Abernethy procedure was a success. 

“Thank you to everyone who played a part in Jaiden’s incredible journey through diagnosis, surgery and recovery,” Dr. Mullapudi said. “It took a true team effort—from the many talented nurses and clinicians to the dedicated OR, Anesthesiology and PICU teams, and everyone supporting care in between.” 

Children’s now has a Portal Hypertension and Abernethy Malformation program where Pediatric Liver Transplant Surgery, Hepatology and Interventional Radiology teams come together to discuss complex cases on a monthly basis. And according to Dr. Mullapudi, they’ve started performing many more of these Abernethy malformation procedures on patients like Jaiden.