A critical simultaneous procedure combining bilateral lung transplantation with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery performed at a city hospital saved the life of a 61-year-old from Jordan.
The patient, Ishaq Abdel Hakim Ahmad Sharawi, was diagnosed with advanced interstitial lung disease, with both lungs permanently fibrosed and damaged. He was wheelchair-bound and dependent on 10 litres of oxygen a minute.
Doctors evaluated him for lung transplantation but tests showed two major blocks in his heart blood vessels. As his condition was deteriorating fast, a team of doctors led by heart and lung transplant surgeon Sandeep Attawar at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital in the city decided to undertake the combined surgery.
Claiming that this was the first such procedure in the State, Dr. Attawar said usually most people with coronary heart disease (heart block) are not considered for lung transplantation. It is an extremely rare procedure as the risks involved are numerous, he said.
The patient was medically optimised by a team of multi-disciplinary doctors, with pre-operative cardiopulmonary rehabilitation along with dietary optimisation. Fortunately for Mr. Sharawi, a matching donor was available on February 20 at Sparsh Hospital.
The retrieved organs from the donor were transported to BGS Gleneagles in 20 minutes through a green corridor and the transplant was done on the same day.
According to a press release, the lung transplant was done with the help of a cardiopulmonary bypass machine. After the procedure, a vein graft was harvested from the patient’s leg and a coronary artery bypass surgery was done to bypass the two heart blocks the patient had. The entire surgery lasted for five and a half hours.
The patient is recovering well. He was taken off the ventilator after 24 hours and mobilised on the second day after surgery.
