The team of doctors from Global Hospitals, Parel successfully performed a complicated & complex bilateral lung transplantation on a 33-year-old Seychelles woman who was on oxygen therapy for the last 5 years due to Cystic Fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension and it was noticed a very rare congenital variation, where patient was having a single vein in her blood vessels connecting the lungs to the heart.
A 33-year-old woman from Seychelles experienced breathlessness and was rushed to a local hospital back in 2018 and has been on oxygen therapy since then. She was diagnosed to have Cystic Fibrosis, a condition in which the lungs are affected the most and as the disease progresses, people have shortness of breath, chronic cough, wheezing, digital clubbing, cyanosis, coughing up blood, pulmonary heart disease, and ultimately a collapsed lung. To add to this, she was also detected with pulmonary hypertension (a type of high blood pressure impacting the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart). In such cases, one needs both heart and lung transplant as both organs are dysfunctional. She was referred to the team at Global Hospitals, Mumbai, where she was registered for a Bilateral Lung Transplant after undergoing several tests.
Dr Samir Garde, Director – Pulmonology, Interventional Pulmonology & Lung Transplant, Global Hospital, Parel said, “She came to us with severe breathlessness and was on oxygen therapy for the past 5 years. At a young age she was unable to do anything because of her clinical condition. Lung transplantation in such cases not only is lifesaving but improves the quality of life dramatically. Lung Transplantation is the most challenging transplant to manage as the organ is exposed to an external environment immediately post the surgery. Additionally, as the patient is of African origin, transplanting Indian lungs poses an additional immunological challenge. At our hospital, we have a comprehensive team along with state-of-the-art equipment that can take care of all the complex issues involved in pre, intra operative and postoperative transplant care of the patients.
Dr Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, Senior Consultant CVTS and Lead Lung Transplant Surgeon at Global Hospital, Parel mentioned, “The transplant performed on December 18, 2022 was challenging as the patient had a congenital variation in her blood vessels connecting the lungs to the heart. Normally each lung is connected to the upper chamber of the heart by 2 veins which are each around 1 to 1.5 cm in size. In our patient, we had a single vein of approximately 2 cm placed in an abnormal position, a congenital variation. The donor had standard 2 veins and the main challenge of the surgery was to conform the 2 veins to the single vein in such a way that the flow is not obstructed which can lead to immediate graft failure as both the site and size was a major deviation from normal.”
“I am grateful to the doctors from Global Hospital for performing the transplant. It was a miracle. The entire staff of the hospital took good care of me. I am happy to stand on my feet again, walk and breathe freely now. Organ donation is a noble act and everyone should donate organs. I thank the family of the donor for saving my life,” said the patient.
“Global Hospital, Mumbai has always been at the forefront in organ transplantation. Our team of clinical experts is committed to helping potential lung transplant recipients, many with multiple medical problems who need complex operations such as heart-lung or double-lung transplants. The care is provided by a multidisciplinary team of specialists in Pulmonology, Cardiovascular & thoracic surgery, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, dedicated nursing staff and other support staff. The patient and the family can rest assured that they will receive top-notch care throughout their entire transplant journey,” concluded Dr Vivek Talaulikar, Chief Executive Officer, Global Hospital, Mumbai.
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