Heart transplant done in Malabar

KOZHIKODE: The organ transplantation initiatives in Malabar  received a shot in the arm  with the first heart transplantation surgery performed at Metro Cardiac Hospital  here  on Friday.

The heart was transplanted from P. Vijesh, 30, of Kannur, who suffered  brain death  on Thursday after a mishap on Tuesday.     K.T. Shamsudheen,  54, from Malappuram, who was suffering from heart failure, was  the beneficiary.

The heart was transported from the AKG Hospital, Kannur,  in an ambulance driven by  Sreeshan.  A team of doctors from Kozhikode, including chief cardiac surgeon Dr V. Nandakumar and chief cardiologist Dr P.P. Mohammed, went to the AKG Hospital on Thursday night and returned to the  Metro Hospital  around 5.15 on Friday morning.

“This is a historic  achievement of the hospital,  being the first centre in Malabar to transplant  a  heart successfully,” said Dr   Nandakumar.  “We performed this surgical procedure  and replaced it with the healthy heart from Vijesh,” he said.

Vijesh had met with the accident  after a gunshot meant to hunt a wild boar accidently hit  him.  Vijesh’s family  agreed to donate his heart to the needy. In consultation with the doctors from Metro, Vijesh’s heart was transported to Kozhikode and the family also agreed to donate other four organs of Vijesh. It was with the prior permission from the district administration that the hospital authorities decided  to transport the heart.