Marengo CIMS Hospital, Ahmedabad offers lung and heart transplantations under one roof
DOGRA HERALD BUREAU
JAMMU, Dec 21
Lung Transplantation is the most complex medical endeavor undertaken by mankind. Marengo CIMS Hospital, Ahmedabad is a recognized Lung Transplant Centre. Lung transplantation is a definitive treatment for Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. IPAH, also known as Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH), manifests in the second and third decades of life. It kills young people suddenly and is one of the causes of sudden cardiac (heart) death. Symptoms of IPAH are shortness of breath, easy fatigability, chest pain, blackouts, and sudden cardiac death. These symptoms are progressive. Marengo CIMS Hospital therefore endeavors to create awareness of this disease – Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH). The Lung transplantation team consists of Dr Jnanesh Thacker, Director, Lung Transplantations, Minimal Invasive Lung Transplantations, Marengo CIMS Hospital with Dr Dhiren Shah, Director, Heart Transplant & Cardiothoracic Surgery, Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) and rest of the transplant team which consists of five other surgeons, 4 Anesthetists, and 5 Perfusionist to mention a few. The total number of transplantation team members exceeds more than 50.
Dr Jnanesh Thakkar, Director, Lung Transplantations, Minimal Invasive Lung Transplantations says, “The IPAH can be a combination influenced by genetic and environmental factors. There are treatments at the early stages of diagnosis that can help manage symptoms and improve the quality of life for a patient. These may include medications to dilate the blood vessels, reduce blood clot formations, and alleviate symptoms. However, at end-stage failure of the lungs, a transplantation of the lungs from a cadaver is a preferred option.”
Marengo CIMS Hospital, Ahmedabad is the only hospital that offers Minimally Invasive Lung Transplantations (MILT). This is compared to the standard procedure which is done by clamshell incision. A clamshell incision is a bilateral anterior thoracotomy with Transverse Sternotomy. Simply means that this incision is a cut right across the chest. In Minimally Invasive Lung Transplantations, the cuts are made only on the sides. The sternum is not divided. The advantages of MILT are less pain, quick recovery, and cosmetically loved by female patients. The scars are not seen from the front and the back or the side. It is only seen when she raises her hands as the incisions lie in the crease of her breasts. Minimally invasive lung transplant has been an area of research and development and yet has not become widespread in clinical practice. With the multifaceted benefits it brings to ailing patients, minimally invasive lung transplant is likely to increase manifold in a couple of years in India. Currently, there are as few as five centers that offer this advanced procedure.
The deceased organ donation rate in India at less than 1 percent per million population, is a major handicap and translates to less than one person per million opting to donate their organs. Superstitions and stigma, lack of transplant coordinators, and lack of required infrastructure for certifying and maintaining brain-dead patients are the reasons behind the low donation numbers in India. While the lack of organ donation is one side of the story, the other is the lack of required processes, skilled experts, hospital infrastructure, and the lack of sufficient examples of long-term organ transplant survivors in the community who become role models for organ transplantation.
