A 46-year-old man, who was suffering from severe Covid pneumonia and was on ECMO support for 90 days, underwent a lung transplant at the Medica Superspecialty Hospital on Monday.
Dipak Halder, an IT professional, was admitted to the hospital on June 9.
An official of the hospital said his lung condition did not improve despite Halder remaining on ECMO support (an artificial support given to patients whose heart and lungs functions get disrupted) for more than 90 days. He was then enlisted with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) and Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) for organ transplant.
The organ came from a 52-year-old man who was declared brain dead at a Surat (Gujarat) hospital on Monday. A seven-member team from Medica went to Surat to assess the condition of the deceased’s lungs. After they found the lungs suitable, the organs were retrieved around 6.20pm on Monday. The organs were airlifted and brought to Kolkata at 9.40pm. A little later, the surgery started and continued for seven hours.
“The patient is in critical care and on ECMO support. The ECMO support will be required for a few days,” said the official.
Kunal Sarkar, senior cardiac surgeon, who was part of the team that conducted the transplant surgery said post-Covid lung transplant was very challenging. “ Post-Covid lung transplant is one of the most stringent surgical challenges,” he said.
A doctor not associated with the transplant said Covid affected lungs severely in many patients suffering from the desease. It affects the normal function of lungs.
