Heart Transplant Registry
One cannot avail heart or lung transplant just like any other elective or emergency surgery. The person who needs heart or lung transplant needs to be screened for the procedure.
Step 1 : Indication
Is the procedure indicated for the person? Patients with heart failure and end stage lung disease will have to be seen by the Department of CVTS, Virinchi Hospital and then the data is presented and discussed with the team which usually consists of a Cardiologist (in case of heart transplant) or a Pulmonolgist (in case of lung transplant) along with the hospital transplant coordinator, the manager of the department and the medical social worker. There are times when we may suggest other moedalities such as synchronised pacing or lung reduction surgery. In any case, the patient will eventually undergo the evaluation process if he/she is found to have indication for transplantation.
Step 2: Evaluation
The evaluation of a prospective reciipient is crucial in order to get the best result from the transplant process. As the transplantation is a costly affair, we need to be sure that the results will be justifiable before we register the patient. The department of CTVS is responsible for the evaluation of the reicipient.
Step 3: Registration
Every patient who is found to be indicated for transplant surgery and who are found to be fit for transplant surgery will be enrolled in the scheme. As the state government (Telangana State of Union of India) is involved, the registration will be submitted by the hospital to the state level registry. This is the responsibility of the transplant coordinator. Once the registration is complete, the patient is advised to follow the instructions so that the health can be maintained till the surgery
Step 4: The Wait
In case of heart transplant, we must wait for an unfortunate donor whose relatives would be willing to donate the heart. The screening of such a donor is important as there should not be problems after transplantation. For lung transplant, the ideas are the same except in the case of very small children in whom the parent can donate a lobe instead of the child's diseased lungs.
In some cases, we may have to transplant both the heart and lung in combination as a heart-lung transplant.
The Virinchi Hospital, Hyderabad and the Department of CVTS is well equiped to do these procedures with dedicated operation theatres, separate cubilcles and barrier nursing for each patient and a dedicated team of professionals.
