A Guntur-Tirupati run saves 14-year-old with heart transplant

Tirupati: With no air ambulance available, a donor heart travelled by road from Guntur to Tirupati in four hours, enabling doctors at TTD run Sri Padmavathi Children’s Heart Centre (SPCHC) to successfully perform a heart transplant on a 14-year-old girl.

The heart was donated by the family of a 38-year-old man who was declared brain-dead after suffering injuries in a road accident.

The family’s decision to donate his organs helped give the young girl a fresh chance at life.

The TTD Transport Department took responsibility for shifting the heart from Guntur to Tirupati. The vehicle carrying the organ left Guntur at around 3 pm on September 20 and reached SPCHC by about 7 pm.

Physician Assistant Vijay and Perfusionist Shyam Babu accompanied the heart during the journey and remained in constant touch with the transplant team.

Their coordination helped ensure that the organ was transported safely and handed over to the medical team without delay.

Following its arrival at the hospital, the multidisciplinary transplant team began the procedure. The eight-hour surgery was performed under the coordination of SPCHC Director Dr N Srinath Reddy. Chief Cardiac Surgeon Dr Dipesh Trivedi led the surgical team, while Dr Madhu Yadav and the cardiac anaesthesia team provided specialised support during the operation.

The transplant was completed successfully and the girl is now under intensive post-operative monitoring at SPCHC.

Doctors are closely watching her condition and providing the necessary medical care following the procedure. The latest surgery is the 27th heart transplant performed at Sri Padmavathi Children’s Heart Centre.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India