A team of doctors in Hyderabad have performed the country’s first double lung transplant on a COVID-19 patient. The patient, Rizwan from Chandigarh in Punjab, was suffering from a severe lung problem called ‘sarcoidosis’ that affected the lungs significantly which led to ‘fibrosis’ of the lungs.
The surgery was led by Dr Sandeep Attawar, the head of heart and lung transplant in Hyderabad’s KIMS Hospital ( Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences ), who is considered a pioneer in heart and lung transplant surgeries in India. This unique surgery was performed on 32-year-old Rizwan ( Monu), whose condition worsened rapidly when he contracted COVID-19 and was awaiting his double lung transplant. Rizwan’s situation further worsened when his oxygen requirement increased from 15 litres/minute to 50 litres /minute in the past eight weeks.
“Fortunately, a match to his lungs was found in a person declared brain-dead in Kolkata, and the harvested lungs were airlifted to Hyderabad to save Rizwan’s life. The procedure was complex and had little hope for errors. After discharge, this patient would need close monitoring, a bio-bubble environment and careful drug control for six weeks at least,” Dr Sandeep Attawar told Zee Media.
Rizwan was discharged on Friday and he was happy go back home. While speaking to Zee Media, Rizwan said, “I had no hopes on my life given my precarious pre-surgery condition but after surgery I am happy to be alive and I got a new life.”
It is a known fact that organ donation for transplants can save many lives but in India still, not many people come forward for organ donation voluntarily and as a result lakhs of people wait endlessly for an organ transplant and many among them are not lucky as they pass away before getting the required organ.
