108 Military Central Hospital successfully performed the 4th heart transplant

NDO - 108 Central Military Hospital has just successfully performed the fourth heart transplant for a patient with severe heart failure and reduced ejection fraction due to dilated cardiomyopathy.

On April 7 (the anniversary of Hung King's death, March 10), doctors from the 108 Military Central Hospital urgently set out to support the 175 Military Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) in performing the first multi-organ transplant from a brain-dead donor at the 175 Military Hospital.

The organ donor was a male patient born in 1965 who was diagnosed with brain death due to a massive hemorrhagic stroke, with severe brain edema complications. On April 7, doctors began surgery to remove multiple tissues and organs. They then removed the donor's heart and liver and quickly flew them back to Hanoi .

Doctors appreciate the noble act of organ donors: "Giving is forever."

At 10:09 p.m. on April 7, two organ preservation boxes were transferred directly to the operating room - where liver and heart transplant patients were ready for surgery, helping to minimize cold ischemia time.

The heart recipient is Ms. NTL (born in 1972) who has severe heart failure with reduced ejection fraction due to dilated cardiomyopathy. Medical treatment for her at this time is only a temporary solution to prolong her life. The only way for her to continue living is a heart transplant. The chance for her to receive a donated heart is even more difficult because she has blood type AB - the most uncommon blood type in Vietnam.

According to Dr. Ngo Vi Hai, Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, 108 Military Central Hospital, the donor's heart is very good and completely compatible with the recipient. Both the donor and recipient have a rare blood type (AB).

"Having two patients with similar age, physical condition and blood type is very rare. This is like a gift from nature and a fate for both the donor and the recipient," said Dr. Hai.

At 10:09 p.m., Dr. Ngo Vi Hai and the entire surgical team immediately began the heart transplant for Ms. L. Thanks to the determination and professional preparation of both hospitals, the surgery went very smoothly, like a perfect arrangement to revive a new life.

The team transported the heart and liver to the airport to Hanoi.

At 11:24 p.m., the new heart began to beat its first beats in Ms. L's chest and the surgery was completed at 1:30 a.m. on April 8. The patient was transferred to the Department of Surgical Resuscitation and Organ Transplantation, 108 Central Military Hospital for post-operative treatment.

Dr. Ngo Vi Hai added that this is the fourth heart transplant performed at 108 Central Military Hospital.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Van Thanh, Head of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, said that the donor's liver was divided into two parts by the organ harvesting team and the liver was divided right inside the donor's body: the left lobe of the liver was transferred to Children's Hospital 2 for transplantation to a child with end-stage liver disease, and the right lobe of the liver was transported to the 108 Central Military Hospital for transplantation to a patient in a pre-hepatic coma due to acute liver failure.

Organs were transported urgently in time for transplantation to patients.

The patient who received the liver at the 108 Military Central Hospital was a male patient (born in 1958). The patient had a history of acute liver failure on the basis of chronic liver disease/hepatitis B and type 2 diabetes.

At exactly 0:08 on April 8, the liver was re-perfused. This was the moment when the entire team was happy, moved, and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the liver gradually turning pink, bile began to secrete, a sign that the graft had begun to function. At 2:03, the liver transplant was completed, and the patient was transferred to the Post-Transplant Intensive Care Unit.

"The transplant at 108 Military Central Hospital went smoothly, and the patient is currently stable after the transplant," said Dr. Thanh.

Doctors perform transplants on patients.

Major General, Professor, Doctor Le Huu Song, Director of 108 Central Military Hospital, shared that with the spirit of "Giving to last forever", the hospital is willing to share knowledge, experience, human resources, and material resources to help hospitals inside and outside the military transfer technology to save more patients, bringing happiness to many patients.

From a brain-dead donor in Ho Chi Minh City, doctors took 2 kidneys, a liver divided into 2 lobes, a heart, and 2 corneas. The heart transplant was performed at the 108 Military Central Hospital, the liver divided into 2 lobes (1 part of the liver was transplanted at the 108 Military Central Hospital, 1 part of the liver was transplanted at Children's Hospital 2); 2 kidneys were transplanted to a patient at the 175 Military Hospital; 2 corneas were transplanted at the Hue Central Hospital.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/benh-vien-trung-uong-quan-doi-108-thuc-hien-thanh-cong-ca-ghep-tim-thu-4-post870972.html