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

§        

      Blood Tests to ensure a good donor match

§      

        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.

§      

      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.