New Delhi [India], December 3 : A 54-year-old woman from Haryana got a new lease on life thanks to a successful heart transplant at a Delhi hospital. She had been battling end-stage heart failure, struggling to walk or even lie down comfortably due to severe fatigue and breathlessness.
After years of struggling with cardiac dysfunction despite optimal medical therapy and advanced interventions, the transplant of a healthy heart from a brain-dead donor offered her a renewed chance at life and hope for her family.
She arrived at the hospital in a critical state with an extremely low ejection fraction of 15%, repeated hospitalisations, whole-body oedema (swelling), severe fatigue and breathlessness that left her barely able to walk or lie down comfortably.
She was on intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support that helps in pumping of the heart for 10 days, and even after undergoing cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT-D) - an advanced type of pacemaker, her condition continued to worsen, making heart transplantation the only option.
After a month-long wait, a compatible donor heart became available, and the transplant team, led by Dr Yugal Kishore Mishra, Chairman - Manipal Institute of Cardiac Sciences and Chief Cardiovascular Surgeon, Dwarka, Delhi and his team swung into action.
A green corridor ensured the donor heart reached Dwarka within the safe window, and the complex surgical procedure was completed in 3 hours and 20 minutes, with the woman's new heart beginning to beat strongly soon after.
The woman is recovering well, showing strong signs of improvement within 15 days of the transplant.
Dr Yugal Kishore Mishra said, "This milestone is the result of years of focused work in building a comprehensive, self-reliant heart failure and transplant program. By treating patients medically and surgically across all stages of heart failure, we ensure the right intervention is provided at the right time. The transplant has not only added years to the patient's life but has also restored hope and quality of living for her and her family. Fortunately, the patient has responded exceptionally well, showing strong signs of recovery within 15 days. In many women, cardiac complications can progress rapidly, making early identification and treatment crucial. Although waiting periods are usually much longer, this patient received a suitable donor heart within a month, which significantly improved her chances."
The hospital team praised the coordination and teamwork that made the transplant possible, calling it a "testimony to the strength of Manipal Hospitals Dwarka in terms of clinical excellence, technological capabilities, and operations."
Viji Varghese, Hospital Director, HCMCT Manipal Hospital Dwarka, Delhi, added, "Heart transplant is among the most complex procedures in cardiac surgery, especially when performed on critically ill patients with severely compromised heart function. This case required extraordinary coordination, teamwork, rapid decision-making and surgical accuracy."