Research in progress — not a clinic product. Unpublished laboratory assays are not tests you can book. Care today is history, examination, blood tests, ultrasound and FibroScan, with further imaging or liver transplant evaluation when indicated.
Why this work matters
Fatty liver (NAFLD, now often called MASLD) can progress from simple fat to inflammation (NASH / MASH), scarring, cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. Routine enzymes can look almost normal while scar is already building. Academic work at Sathyabama asks how clinical data and FibroScan staging can be combined to spot that progression earlier — including in both obese and lean (non-obese) patients.
That question sits next to Dr. Babu’s practice: transplant and HPB surgery, and metabolic pathways when obesity and NASH travel together.
What patients can use today
In clinic now
History, metabolic work-up, ultrasound, liver function tests, and FibroScan (fat score + stiffness, F0–F4 band) to decide lifestyle follow-up versus closer surgical review. See FibroScan in Chennai.
Academic research (not bookable)
Ongoing university collaboration on fatty-liver progression and earlier detection. Methods and unpublished markers stay in the academic protocol. They are not listed here and are not sold as a consumer panel.
Patient guides
You do not need research enrolment to get care. Use these guides, then book a consultation at Mira Health Care (Adyar), Kauvery Hospital (Alwarpet), Capstone Clinic (T. Nagar), Kumaran Hospital or THANC Hospital (Kilpauk).
Frequently asked questions
- Does Dr. Babu Elangovan do fatty liver research in Chennai?
- Yes. Alongside clinical practice, he is involved in academic NAFLD / MASLD research with Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, focused on earlier detection of progression. That work is in progress and is not a bookable clinic test.
- Can I book a special research blood panel for fatty liver?
- No. Investigational research assays are not sold as a patient product. Care today is history, examination, labs, ultrasound and FibroScan, with HPB imaging or transplant evaluation when indicated.
- How is fatty liver assessed in clinic now?
- Dr. Babu uses clinical assessment, liver function tests, ultrasound and FibroScan (fat score and stiffness) to decide lifestyle follow-up versus closer surgical or transplant review. See the FibroScan patient guide for F0–F4 meaning.
Selected clinical publications
Transplant and GI papers are listed on the surgeon profile. The fatty-liver academic programme is ongoing and is not yet a journal article on that list.
- Early Outcome of Marginal Grafts in Deceased Donor Liver Transplant — Elangovan B, et al.
- A Novel Technique of Physiological Portal Inflow Augmentation During Liver Transplantation for Yerdel Grade 4 PVT — Liver Transpl, 2020;26:294–298
- Clinico-pathological Presentation of GEP-NETs and IHC Study — J Clin Diagn Res, 2019