Heart Transplant: Purpose, Procedure, Risks, Recovery

The process by which a damaged or diseased heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a donor is referred to as heart transplant. An incredibly complex procedure, this is performed to treat the most serious and/or complicated cases of heart ailments when all the other options such as medication, lifestyle changes and less invasive procedures have proven futile.

Fortis Hospital is one of the top hospitals for heart transplant surgery in India, equipped with a team of highly skilled cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and heart transplant specialists.  They are adequately supported by our state-of-the-art infrastructure.

When is a heart transplant surgery performed?

There are certain conditions which are considered particularly detrimental to the well-being of an individual, which warrant this procedure:

Ø  Cardiomyopathy: The walls of the arteries become thickened and stiff, making harder for the heart to pump blood.

Ø  Coronary Artery Disease: The blood vessels which supply blood, oxygen and other essential nutrients to the heart become afflicted with a build-up of plaque on the inner walls. This reduces the blood flow to the heart and hence results in a heart attack.

Ø  Congenital Heart Defects: A person may be born with certain structural or performance defects in the heart which requires a transplant.

Fortis Hospitals is a multi-specialty hospital which is renowned for its hearttransplantation and cardiac surgery. The specialists at Department of Cardiology carry out a wide array of tests to ensure a high survival rate and the best outcome for a patient.

What are the tests performed before a transplant?

Fortis Hospital is well-known for its heart transplant treatment thanks to our rigorous care and an eye for detail, with a dedicated team overseeing all the aspects of heart transplant.  These include

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      Blood Tests to ensure a good donor match

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        Diagnostic tests including CT scan, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and X-rays to assess the overall condition of the person as well as the state of the lungs.

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      Vaccinations to minimize the possibilities of an  infection

Steps involved in Heart Transplantation:

Step 1: A general anesthetic is administered to the patient.

Step 2: The patient is connected to an intravenous line  and a ventilator to facilitate supply of medicine and to assist in respiration. 

Step 3: The surgeons make a cut in the breastbone in order to facilitate the removal of diseases heart and the insertion of the donor heart.

Step 4: The patient is connected to a heart-lung bypass machine to enable blood circulation when the surgery is being performed.

Step 5: The defective heart is removed and the healthy donor heart is inserted. The blood vessels are connected with proper care so that there is no leakage.

Step 6: The bypass machine is finally disconnected.

After the surgery, the patient is kept in the hospital to allow for the stabilization of his/her vital health parameters. There will of course be several follow-up appointments to constantly monitor the functioning of the new heart.

Risks and Complications of Heart Transplant

This surgery has its own share of probable risks, which a person must be aware of. These include:

           
     Rejection: The recipient’s immune system may confuse the new donor heart with a foreign object and attack the donor heart. This risk can be mitigated to a certain extent with the help of immunosuppressants-medications that suppress the potency and activities of the body’s immune system. Nevertheless, it is still a possibility in a small percentage of the cases. This can be assessed through biopsy and be treated with medication.

     Side-effects of medicines: The immunosuppressants may result in many side-effects such as kidney damage, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and also cancer. This can be tackled through regular follow-ups at our reputed cardiac care hospital.

    Infection: Since the body’s digestive system is weakened by the medications, the risk of getting an infection is high. However, it reduces significantly after the first year of transplant.

Fortis Hospital is among the best heart valvereplacement surgery hospitals in India with 250 successful heart transplantations to its credit and over 30 years of experience.

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SPINE SURGERY?

Back pain is one of the most common conditions that most of us experience at some point in our lives. It usually occurs due to straining of the muscles, degenerative tissues, herniated disc, sacroiliac joint disease, arthritis, fracture in the lumbar vertebrae etc. and can be experienced in the upper back, mid-back or lower back region. There has been a spurt in the number of people experiencing back pain in recent times due to poor posture and lack of exercise brought about by the modern sedentary lifestyle. A person experiencing back pain for a prolonged period of time must seek medical care from qualified experts.

Fortis Hospitals is a well-known spine surgery hospital in India that is equipped with the necessary facilities to offer top-quality health care services for effective treatment of back pain.

Some of the Common Types of Spinal Surgeries are:

➢ Artificial Disc Replacement: It involves replacing a painful disc that is causing chronic back pain with an artificial disc that provides relief from the pain without compromising the spine’s natural anatomical structure. The artificial disc is similar to the damaged one in structure and also share similar functions.

➢ Cervical Disc Replacement: In this procedure, an artificial disc is inserted between two vertebrae in the neck which act as shock absorbers between the bones of the neck or the cervical spine.

 Lumbar Puncture: A needle is inserted between the two vertebrae to remove a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid in order to diagnose serious infections such as meningitis and other disorders of the central nervous system.

 Diskectomy: A surgical procedure to remove the damaged portion of a herniated disk in the spine.

 Laminectomy: It is a surgery that creates space by removing the lamina, or the back part of the vertebra covering the spinal canal to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord.

 Spinal Fusion: This surgery is done to connect two or more vertebrae in your spine and eliminate the motion between them.

Back pain has many implications and the treatment for it involves a multi-disciplinary approach requiring the collective expertise of specialists from different fields, such as orthopaedics and neurology. Fortis Hospital has carved a name for itself in the domain of brain surgery in India by adopting a holistic technique of treating back pain and other related conditions, which include sharing of knowledge and technical expertise.

Benefits and Risks of Spine Surgery

Surgery is only performed after having tried out a variety of non-surgical treatments to alleviate the back pain. Some of the benefits include:

• better mobility

• improved physical fitness

• reduced need for pain medications

• better productivity

However, spine surgery does have its share of possible risks, such as:

• Bleeding

• Infection

• Nerve damage

• Stroke

• Heart attack

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

This is a modern approach in the field of surgeries, and has considerable benefits compared to the traditional open spine surgery. It involves making minute keyhole incisions in the spinal region and using a laparoscope to examine and treat any abnormalities. The benefits of this advanced technique are:

• smaller incisions lead to reduced blood loss and better cosmetic results

• reduced risk of muscle trauma

• faster recovery and reduced hospital stay

• reduced reliance on pain medications after surgery

Fortis Hospital lives up to its reputation of being one of the foremost neurology hospitals in India owing to its reliance on cutting-edge techniques to solve such type of problems. This technique is also beneficial for treating a host of other conditions cutting across medical specializations.

What Happens During a Kidney Biopsy Procedure?

If you’re suffering from complications in your kidney, you might be asked to do a kidney biopsy. Fortis Hospitals offers one of the finest acute kidney failure treatments in India.

What is a Kidney Biopsy?

A biopsy is done to remove tissue or cells from the body to exam under a microscope. The tissue sample is removed with a needle to check for cancer or other abnormal cells. It also helps check how well the kidney is working.

There are 2 types of kidney biopsies:

Needle biopsy:

After anesthesia is given, the healthcare provider inserts the biopsy needle into the kidney to get a sample. Ultrasound or computed tomography (CT scan) may be used to guide the needle. Most kidney biopsies are done using this technique.

Open biopsy:

After anesthesia is given, the doctor makes an incision in the skin and surgically removes a piece of the kidney.

Preparations for a kidney biopsy:

A kidney biopsy may be done on an outpatient basis or in a hospital. It may be done in a
procedure room, in a hospital bed, or in the radiology department. Procedures may vary
depending on your condition and your doctor’s practices.

Generally, a kidney biopsy follows this process:

•  You will be changed into a hospital gown.
• An intravenous line may be started in your arm or hand.
•  You will lie on your stomach so that the doctor can easily reach the kidney.
•  The skin over the biopsy site will be cleaned with an antiseptic solution.
•  You will feel a needle stick when the local anesthesia is injected. This may cause a brief stinging sensation.
• You will need to lie still during the procedure.
• Ultrasound or X-ray may be used to guide the needle into the kidney.
• You will be asked to breathe in and hold your breath while the doctor inserts the biopsy needle into the kidney. This prevents movement of the diaphragm, which may interfere with the placement of the biopsy needle.
• You may feel discomfort or pressure when the sample is taken.
• When the needle is withdrawn, firm pressure will be applied to the biopsy site to control the bleeding.
• A sterile bandage or dressing will be applied.
• The kidney tissue sample will be then sent to the lab for testing.

Backed by world-class set of surgeons and supreme technologies, Fortis Hospitals has remained to provide one of the best renal biopsy treatments in India.