Kolkata, May 29, 2019: A team of doctors at Fortis Hospital, Anandapur successfully performed a heart transplant surgery early morning today. The donor heart was transplanted onto a 44-year-old woman from Dum Dum Cantonment in Kolkata, giving her a new lease of life. The heart transplant was the only way to save the life of the person as she was suffering from Dilated Cardiomyopathy. The Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) of West Bengal put the case on priority for an early transplant as the patient’s health was deteriorating.
The team of doctors who performed this surgery included Dr Tapas Raychaudhury, Director, Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgery and Dr K M Mandana, Director, Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgery along withDr SaikatBandopadhyay, Senior Consultant, Cardiac Anesthesiologist & Intensivist& Dr Sanjay Singh, HOD, Anesthesiafrom Fortis Hospital, Anandpur.
The donor heart was made available after a 16-year-old man was declared brain dead at a Global Hospital in Mumbai. Once the family consented to donate his organs, a team of doctors led by Dr Ashima Bhelotkar retrieved the live heart at 06:30 PM on 28th May 2019. A green corridor was created from hospital to the airport to transport the live heart. The flight took off at 8:05 PM from Mumbai.
As soon as the flight landed in Kolkata at 10:17 PM, the live heart was taken through a Green Corridor created by ROTTO, and Kolkata Police to the Fortis Hospital in Anandapur. The distance of 18 Kms from airport to hospital was covered in record 16 minutes. The patient was already induced in Operation Theatre and the doctors immediately started the heart transplant surgery. The heart was successfully implanted at 12.30 AM & the entire procedure was completed by 3 AM. The patient is stable and remains ventilated for next 24 hours.
Speaking about it, Dr Tapas Raychaudhury said, “The team at Fortis Hospital, Anandapur is happy to perform yet another heart transplantation to save life of a Kolkata resident. We now have a robust Heart Transplant Programme in Kolkata. We benefitted from the expertise in heart transplantation acquired by Fortis group over the past decade. There is a need to create awareness among the doctors & intensivist to promptly declare the patients with brain death”.
Speaking about the condition of the patient, Dr K M Mandana said, “The patient is under constant observation for next 24 to 48 hours. Her condition is stable. We must keep on encouraging cadaveric organ donation awareness which can go a long way to improve quality of life for many terminally ill patients. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the family of the donor who took this decision to donate heart of their loved one so that another one can live.”
Mr Samir Singh, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital, Anandapur said, “We are happy that Fortis Hospital, Anandapur performedanother Heart Transplant today. We extend our humble appreciation to all the stakeholders who tireless made efforts to save this precious life.”
