Free heart transplant peformed on two young girls

MGM Healthcare, a quaternary care hospital in the heart of Chennai city, announced today two successful heart transplant procedures performed on a 11-year-old and a 17-year-old girl, both belonging to the less-privileged section of society. The transplant procedure was done at a concessional price by MGM Healthcare and was supported by Aishwarya Trust. The procedure was successfully performed by the team of transplant doctors, led by Dr K R Balakrishnan, Chairman – Cardiac Sciences and Director – Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare and Dr Suresh Rao K G, Co-Director – Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare.

Tushitha (17), a 12th standard student from Chennai whose father works as a battery salesman, was diagnosed with severe breathlessness and features suggestive of severe heart failure. After evaluation, she was found to have Dilated Cardiomyopathy with end-stage heart failure. She was registered on the state’s transplant registry, waiting in line to receive a new heart. Once a suitable donor was identified, she was taken up for transplantation and the procedure was successfully performed.

Agalya (11), whose father works as a security officer from Nagercoil, started experiencing difficulty in breathing and was subsequently diagnosed with Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy presenting with heart failure. Her echocardiogram showed severe diastolic dysfunction and grade III SAM and her LVOT gradient was more than 100mm HG and NT pro-

BNP more than 6000. Like Tushitha, she too appeared on the transplant waiting list and when a donor organ was available, moved on to have transplant surgery that was successful.

Dr K R Balakrishnan, said, “Both the girls were brought in a critical condition into MGM Healthcare. I am happy that both have responded well to the procedure, and they can soon move back into their daily routine. My sincere thanks and appreciation to Aishwarya Trust who supported the families financially.” Coming from financially challenged backgrounds, Aishwarya Trust – a non-profit organisation serving over a decade to support medical expenses of the deserving patient from the economically underprivileged section of the society – came forward to finance both their treatment.

Dr Suresh Rao said, “Heart failure causes dysfunction of other organs in the body due to lack of sufficient blood supply. It was a challenge to keep end-stage heart failure patients in a good condition till they get a suitable heart. These kids were lucky to get the heart transplant before other organs were dysfunctional.”

Speaking on this endeavour, Chitra Viswanathan, Managing trustee & Co Founder of Aishwarya Trust, said, “Both these young girls, Agalya and Tushitha, needed an immediate transplant. The family was not able to afford the expenses of a heart transplant. When I came to know about these young girls, I discussed the case with my trustees, and we agreed to finance them. I am very delighted that the surgery went well. Aishwarya Trust started supporting the transplant programme from 2014 and we are proud to be a part of the transplant programme along with Dr K R Balakrishnan, Dr Suresh Rao and MGM Healthcare’s transplant team. Till date the trust has supported over 3500 congenital heart surgeries and 87 heart transplants We look forward to helping many more deserving children in the coming year.”

“At MGM Healthcare, we believe only in the best — the best of technology, the best of infrastructure but most importantly, the best of clinical expertise. We have a plethora of highly specialised medical professionals from across the country. Dr K R Balakrishnan and his team’s experience and skillful expertise precede them,” said Dr Prashanth Rajagopalan, Director, MGM Healthcare.