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Dr. Gokhale and his team successfully performed the First Lung Transplantation in Andhra Pradesh at Yashoda Hospitals, Secunderabad, taking the medical facilities at Hyderabad one more step forward. Cardiothoracic surgery team at Yashoda Hospitals, Secunderabad, headed by Dr A.G.K. Gokhale, Chief Cardiothoracic, Transplant and Minimal Access Surgeon and Dr G. Subramanyam, Senior consultant Anesthetist, transplanted a lung for a 34 years old Mrs. Archana from Pune , making her breathe comfortably again after a long time.
Dr. Gokhale and his team successfully performed the First Lung Transplantation in Andhra Pradesh at Yashoda Hospitals, Secunderabad, taking the medical facilities at Hyderabad one more step forward. Besides Yashoda Hospitals, there is only one center in India where such facilities for both lung and heart transplantations are available under one roof.
Cardiothoracic surgery team at Yashoda Hospitals, Secunderabad, headed by Dr A.G.K. Gokhale, Chief Cardiothoracic, Transplant and Minimal Access Heart Surgeon and Dr G. Subramanyam, Senior consultant Anesthetist, transplanted a lung on 8th of September, 2012, for a 34 years old Mrs. Archana from Pune , making her breathe comfortably again after a long time.
The patient with two small children, has been suffering for last two years from a lung condition called Interstitial Fibrosis – a condition in which lungs become stiff and oxygen will not go into blood through lungs. She was bedridden depending on oxygen at rest. She went all over in Maharashtra for possible cure.
Doctors treating her at Bombay hospital, Mumbai, suggested Lung Transplantation as only option left to them as both the lungs were damaged. It was a rude shock for the whole family as it was not available anywhere in close by hospitals. After that they searched all over the country and came to Dr Gokhale at Yashoda Hospitals for the operation about 2 months back. She was evaluated by Dr Gokhale and Dr Gangadhar Reddy, Pulmonologist for lung transplantation. After that they had video discussions with lung transplant team at Debakey Heart and Lung center, Houston, Texas and once it was confirmed that there is no other option to save this patient, she was kept on waiting list. Since then she stayed in a hotel near the hospital premises waiting desperately for a donor to be available.
Lung Transplant, a surgical procedure is usually required replace a diseased or failed / damaged lung with a healthy one, usually from a deceased donor. Depending on medical condition, a lung transplant may involve replacing one (single lung transplant) or both (double lung transplant). Lung Transplant is required for many reasons that include Scarring of the lungs (Pulmonary Fibrosis), Cystic Fibrosis, Sarcoidosis with advanced Fibrosis, Pulmonary Hypertension and damage to lung arteries caused by an untreated congenital heart defect. For many patients single lung transplantation is enough. It costs Rs. 15 to 20 lakhs.
On the 8th September evening, a lady patient was declared brain dead due to massive bleeding inside the brain, in another corporate (KIMS) hospital, Hyderabad. When her attendants agreed to donate the organs, her lungs were brought in a preservative solution and right lung was transplanted to the patient.
This operation took nearly 14 hours to complete from planning to execution. She was taken off ventilator after 24 hours and when she started talking, those were the happiest moments for the entire team which worked towards this historic surgery. Apart from Dr Gokhale, surgical team included Dr Viswanath and Dr Dilip Ratti and the Anesthesia team included Dr Subramanyam, Dr Sudhakar, Dr Madhav and Dr Venu. Post-operation she was monitored in the intensive care unit by the cardiothoracic surgery and pulmonology teams.
We have two lungs in the chest and they purify blood by giving oxygen from the air we breathe and removing carbon-di-oxide from blood. They can be many reasons for the damage to lungs like Direct and Indirect smoking, working in polluted atmosphere and it could be even as a follow up of viral infection/s, informed Dr. Gokhale.
As age advances, nearly 10% of people in urban areas develop major lung problems. When they get damaged, patients find it difficult to do the work they were doing before and slowly get breathless on walking for small distances. Latter they cannot breathe without keeping oxygen and become bedridden. For many of these patients, drugs do not help. The only option for them to live longer and have good quality of life is – Lung transplantation. After transplantation, they can do normal activities and enjoy the life and do what they love. They also have to be on drugs that prevent rejection life-long. This transplantation has created a new hope to such patients who otherwise do not have hope to live. The heart team at Yashoda Hospitals in Secunderabad has rich experience in doing complicated heart and lung surgeries for over one and a half decade.
An attempt was made for heart transplantation as early as 1963. Finally first successful lung transplantation was performed by Toronto group in 1983. Fourteen hundred transplantations are done worldwide every year. Advances in operative techniques and immuno-suppression drugs have led to reduction of mortality to below 10 per cent.
Incidentally in Andhra Pradesh, Dr A.G.K. Gokhale and his team did the first successful heart transplant in 2004 and implanted the first left ventricular assist device (LVAD) in July 2012 and again did the first lung transplant. Dr Gokhale is one of the only two surgeons in India who performed heart and lung transplants successfully so far. He also has a distinction of performing India’s first Heart-Kidney combined transplant.
Anyone who wants to know more about lung transplant can contact Dr. Gokhale’s secretary Mrs. Anasuya on Tel: 9397881604 OR Mr. Sivakumar, DGM – Corporate Relations on 9391029810