Reflecting its commitment
to saving and enriching lives beyond
boundaries, a team of cardiac experts at the
centre of excellence for advanced cardiac care Fortis Malar, Chennai, led by
Dr. K R Balakrishnan, Director Cardiac Sciences performed a lifesaving complex heart transplant surgery on a Pakistani National,the donor was an Indian national.
40 year old, Moulana
Mohammed Zubair Ashmi resident of Tehsil Kharian, District Gujarat, Pakistan,
was suffering from a condition called “Dilated Cardiomyopathy”, where the
functioning of both the ventricle
of the heart is severely depressed. He was
repeatedly admitted in several hospitals with breathing difficulty, poor urine
output and swelling in the body. Doctors finally diagnosed him as having heart
failure and advised his family that his only chance of
survival was a heart transplant.
“He had been on medication
in Pakistan for more than a year since he was diagnosed with decreased pumping
efficiency of the heart of around 10-15 % (Normal being 60 percent) – a condition
denoting his poor heart function. When his condition became precarious, he was
airlifted from a leading heart hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Upon his arrival at
Fortis Malar, we performed a detailed medical examination, and realised he also
had renal failure, had fluid in his lungs and abdomen and was also hepatitis C
positive. All this just made his condition extremely difficult to treat” explained Dr. K R Balakrishnan, Director
Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Malar.
Despite being on maximal
drugs, his cardiac function was deteriorating, leaving doctors at Fortis Malar
with the option of either finding a donor heart urgently or fitting him with an
artificial heart implant device. His kidney was nearing ‘shut down’ with a
serum creatinine of about 3.8mg% (normal < 1mg %) and scanty urine output of less than 150 cc per
day. Since his right ventricle was severely dysfunctional, artificial long term
artificial heart pump support was ruled out.
Luckily for Zubair, after a
wait of approximately 2 months, a suitable Indian donor heart became available
even though it was of a different blood group, thanks to the highly efficient
organ sharing network system created in the State by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu.
“If the transplant had been
delayed by even 2 days, it would have cost him his life. Though most of the transplants are usually
done on people with same blood group, in Zubair’s case the donor’s blood group
was O+ve and his was AB +ve. The tissue mapping in this case was good and
viable. His Hepatitis C was treated with Interferon thereby reducing the viral
load and Renal disease was managed with Inotropes to increase the renal blood
flow and Immuno suppressants was modified to limit damage to the kidneys” added
Dr. Suresh Rao, Chief of
Cardiac
Anesthesia and Critical Care.
Today Zubair is a happy man
and is grateful for having being given a new lease
of life in India. “Iam ready to live life
all over again and it is all due to the
kindness of my saviour heart " he said. Post surgery, he is recuperating
well and is able to walk and take food on his own and his kidney function has
completely recovered.He is scheduled to be dischraged
from the hospital soon.
“Dr. K R Balakrishan said “There
are close to 1.5 million patients diagnosed every year with new onset heart
failure in India, and at least a third of them will need advanced therapy to
survive.”
"Fortis Malar has become a centre of excellence for heart transplants
within India and beyond our borders.We will continue to strive to save many
more lives with the expertise of our accomplished cardiac team" said Mr. Vijayarathna,
Zonal Director, Fortis Malar Hospital.
About Dilated
Cardiomyopathy
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a
condition in which the heart becomes weak, enlarged and cannot pump blood
efficiently. It affects the heart's ventricles and atria. These are the lower
and upper chambers of the heart, respectively. The decreased heart function can
affect the lungs, liver, and other organs as well. It occurs in people of all
ages, including infants and children mostly between the age group of 20 to
60.The disease often starts in the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping
chamber. The heart muscle begins to dilate (stretch and become thinner). This
causes the inside of the chamber to enlarge. The problem often spreads to the
right ventricle and then to the atria as the disease gets worse.
About Centre
of excellence for advanced cardiac care, Fortis Malar Chennai
Fortis Malar Hospital has
set benchmarks in cardiac care with its path breaking work over the past 20
years. Today, it is recognized world over as a centre of excellence providing
the latest technology in Cardiac Bypass Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery,
Interventional Cardiology, Non-invasive Cardiology, Paediatrics, Cardiology and
Paediatrics Cardiac Surgery. It is amongst the few hospitals in the country
that offer specialized treatment in the field of Paediatrics Cardiology and
Cardiac Surgery, Heart Transplant and Electrophysiology.
Fortis Healthcare Limited
is an integrated healthcare delivery service provider in Asia. The healthcare
verticals of the company span primary care, diagnostics, day care speciality
and hospitals, with a healthcare network spanning 12 countries. Currently, the
company operates its healthcare delivery network in India, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Vietnam, Dubai, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Australia, New
Zealand with 70 healthcare facilities (including projects under development),
over 11,000 potential beds, over 600 primary care centres, over 190 day care
speciality centres, over 240 diagnostic centres, over 22,500 employees together
with approximately 2,000 people employed at our managed healthcare facilities.
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