The first patient to undergo heart transplant on Sunday at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research is showing signs of recovery which is a positive indication as signs of rejection of the organ is not unusual.
According to sources in PGI, the condition of the man who underwent heart transplantation is stable and he is being constantly monitored at the intensive care unit and there are no signs of post operational complications. The heart was harvested from a brain-dead patient admitted to the ICU of PGI. Kashmir Singh, a resident of Garhshankar, near Hoshiarpur, was rushed to the hospital on July 31 in a critical condition after he met with a road accident a day earlier. His family gave consent for his heart donation.
“The condition of the patient is stable and currently he is under observation in the ICU. Depending on his recovery status and progress, he will be discharged after two to three weeks,” said the official spokesperson of PGI. Doctors attending on the patient said that there are no signs of organ rejection shown by the patient till now. Early signs of organ rejection include fatigue, fever, chocking and problems in breathing, highly dipping blood pressure and unusual swelling in legs or hands.
The recipient of the heart is in his early forties and he is recovering well without any signs of complication. “We are constantly monitoring the patient and keeping an eye on him round the clock because the body takes time to get accustomed to a new organ,” added a Cardiologist at PGI. The PGI authorities are on cloud nine after the success of this transplant. According to experts, this transplant has boosted their morale and PGI will undertake more multi organ transplant programs, which has already been in their Golden Jubilee manifesto. “Soon we will engage in cardiothoracic surgery and later we will engage in lung transplant,” said a senior official of the premier institute.