CHENNAI: As 50-year-old Sivalingam stretched out his leg and smiled at the flashing cameras in the heart ICUa team of transplant surgeons and doctors at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital they could not control their joy. After more than three years, doctors at the hospital successfully performed a heart transplant.
The patient, an engineer who works in Bay, came to the hospital in July with severe chest pains. He had a history of uncontrolled diabetes leading to cardiovascular disease. “He had already had a stent inserted in Gulf. His condition was bad when he came to us. He had cardiomyopathy, which caused heart failure,” said the dean of the hospital, Dr. E Theranirajan.
Doctors told Sivalingam and his family members that the only treatment they could offer to cure him was a heart transplant. After the family agreed, doctors put his name on a waiting list at the country’s transplant authority, Transtan. After almost three months in the third week of November, the doctors at the hospital were called by the authorities.
The family of a 37-year-old patient, who was declared brain dead by doctors at the same hospital after a traffic accident, agreed to donate his organs. The heart was assigned to Sivalingam. The transplant was uneventful and Sivalingam responded well to treatment.
“He is now eligible for discharge,” said the dean. The hospital, which has performed nearly a dozen heart transplants, put the program on hold during Covid-19. He said the first surgery after the transplant was successful. 22 lakh was covered by the government health insurance for the patient’s surgery. The operation was free for the patient.
Doctors said they will continue to monitor his recovery and give him medication to keep his new heart working. And that is what Sivalingam wanted. “The chest pain is gone. The doctors have told me that I can gradually start my daily routine. I’m just waiting to get there,” he said.
The patient, an engineer who works in Bay, came to the hospital in July with severe chest pains. He had a history of uncontrolled diabetes leading to cardiovascular disease. “He had already had a stent inserted in Gulf. His condition was bad when he came to us. He had cardiomyopathy, which caused heart failure,” said the dean of the hospital, Dr. E Theranirajan.
Doctors told Sivalingam and his family members that the only treatment they could offer to cure him was a heart transplant. After the family agreed, doctors put his name on a waiting list at the country’s transplant authority, Transtan. After almost three months in the third week of November, the doctors at the hospital were called by the authorities.
The family of a 37-year-old patient, who was declared brain dead by doctors at the same hospital after a traffic accident, agreed to donate his organs. The heart was assigned to Sivalingam. The transplant was uneventful and Sivalingam responded well to treatment.
“He is now eligible for discharge,” said the dean. The hospital, which has performed nearly a dozen heart transplants, put the program on hold during Covid-19. He said the first surgery after the transplant was successful. 22 lakh was covered by the government health insurance for the patient’s surgery. The operation was free for the patient.
Doctors said they will continue to monitor his recovery and give him medication to keep his new heart working. And that is what Sivalingam wanted. “The chest pain is gone. The doctors have told me that I can gradually start my daily routine. I’m just waiting to get there,” he said.