Recovery from Abnormal Symptoms After Successful Heart Transplant in India

Heart Transplant Surgery – Dr. Sandeep Attawar

My name is Abba Musa, and I am 42 years old. Not very long ago, I had completely given up the hope of living and felt depressed and dejected because that would mean that I would be leaving my wife alone in this world. Our two children had grown up and had lives of their own, while my wife and I were living a happy life when suddenly I started getting trouble in breathing, I would become totally exhausted even when I was simply walking a short distance. There were other troubles also. I just attributed these symptoms to my high blood pressure. I also had two heart attacks in succession and at that time the doctor had told me to be careful about my heart health. I also had high blood pressure which often went out of control. So I thought that these could be the reasons for my symptoms. Little did I know that my life was going to be turned upside down with a visit to the doctor.

It happened when my wife observed my symptoms and urged me to go to the doctor so that a proper check-up could be done to understand the reason behind such a change in health. We took an appointment with the cardiologist, and he is the one who announced that my heart was failing and I could not continue like this. He suggested several tests like CT scan, MRI, pulmonary function test etc. The results of these tests confirmed what the cardiologist had diagnosed. He said that due to the impact of the two heart attacks and a long history of high blood pressure had caused my heart to give up working properly. When I asked the doctor the cure for it, he said that heart transplant was the only option available. However, in my country Sudan there were no facilities where I could get such treatment done. The country is just not as advanced in medical technology. The doctor suggested going to the USA or some other advanced country, but the cost of the treatment there was very inhibiting.

Soon the word spread in my family and my brother Ali who was very close to me, took it upon himself to find a solution to the problem. In the meanwhile, the cardiologist suggested that I opt for a VAD which is a ventricular assist device meant for people who were either waiting for a heart transplant or were not suitable for such a major surgery. The device would be implanted in the chest and is a mechanical pump that helps in pumping the blood from the ventricles to the rest of the body. In the meanwhile, my doctor said that no other medical measures could help my failing heart. I was supposed to reduce my physical activity to the bare minimum which I found hard to do after a life long habit of being very active. It felt strange with the VAD and for the time being, the symptoms that I was having stopped. This felt good, but I was really worried and scared of the heart transplant.

This is because in many cases even a successful transplant doesn’t work because the patient’s body rejects the donor’s heart or there could be other complications like infection, bleeding, blood clot etc. Sometimes the arteries of the heart thicken leading to another major problem. The medication given to a patient who has undergone heart transplant are mainly immune suppressants and they could have serious side effects. Before anything else, I should also be fit for a transplant. For this itself, a lot of tests would have to be done, but they would be done, by transplant specialists who would then decide whether I was fit for a transplant. Hence these tests would be done in the country where I would get the surgery done.

Ali in the meanwhile began his research online, and he said that we could not think of going to any of the advanced countries, but we could find similar high-end technology at a much lower price in India. The idea appealed to me and my wife. However, the problem did not end there because the main question was to find a donor, choose the right hospital and doctor for the surgery etc. To this too Ali had an answer, he said that when searching online he had come across the mention of medical tourism agencies which would help us in the course of going to India for the surgery. Ali said that medical tourism was becoming a major industry in India, because of the high cost of medical and surgical treatments in advanced countries like the USA, UK and European countries. It was also an option like people from countries like mine where the medical technology was not advanced enough for complicated surgical procedures.

The meanwhile my wife and I continued to be worried about what the future would hold for me. Ali too was worried and so was other members of the family. Our kids came to visit us and assured us that they would stand by me and provide all the emotional or even financial support that I required. Although my life was affected by high blood pressure, it was running smoothly. Now it suddenly seemed as if everything had come to a standstill. My wife would cry hiding from me, but I could make out from the puffiness and redness in her eyes. I tried to placate her, but the truth was that I too was in a very distressed condition emotionally and mentally. I prayed for everything to go well so that I could enjoy the rest of my life with my wife because our younger days had been a struggle to bring up our kids and the responsibilities of a couple. Only recently the responsibilities had got over, and we were living semi-retired life.

Ali assured me that everything would be fine, and both of us started researching medical tourism companies in India. It came as no surprise when many of the companies did not deal with something as complicated as heart transplant surgery. There were few that did and we started reading their websites. All of them stated on the websites that their specialty was such tough medical and surgical procedures. We shortlisted 3 such companies and placed a call on them. Ali spoke on the phone and I listened to the speakerphone. The first two companies were professional and crisp, but the third company, after reading their patient testimonials that caught my attention. The lady answering the phone was no doubt professional but had a friendly tone of voice. She explained that they had handled many such cases from different parts of the world and they specialized in such tough surgical procedures. Not only heart transplant, but they had also dealt in multiple organ transplants and to date, but none of the surgeries that they helped in had also gone wrong.

She explained the nitty-gritty of medical tourism and said that although they were doing the coordination all the decisions regarding the doctor and hospital would be ours. She was very empathetic and reassured me that things would go fine, looking at their track record. We said that we needed time to take our decision regarding the medical tourism agency and she said that we could take our time, but should also consider the fact that the surgery should be done as soon as possible. After the phone calls,Ali and I discussed the matter, and both of us had a positive feeling about the third agency – India Cardiac Surgery Site-a group of surgeons and hospitals. We decided to go with them and placed a call to them. The same lady answered the phone and when we introduced ourselves, she remembered the earlier phone call. This was even more comforting to know that the agency staff kept note of people who called them even for an inquiry.

She said that the procedure for heart transplant surgery was different from others. This is because apart from physical tests, I would also have to see a psychologist who would ascertain my mental condition for the transplant. A team of transplant specialists would suggest physical tests like CT scan, MRI, Xray, pulmonary function test, ultrasound and dental examination. These tests were to ascertain the patient’s overall health and the condition of the lungs. After the results of these tests were evaluated by the team of specialists, the search for a donor would begin. I would also have to get a blood examination done which would match the heart of the donor with mine. The catch in heart transplant surgeries was that the procedure had to be completed within 4 hours of the donor’s heart became available. This is the reason that I would have to stay in India for a longer time. For this, I should bring along a person who was close to me and who could take responsibility. We told her that my brother Ali would accompany me during my visit to India. She also said that instead of putting up in a hotel it would be advisable to opt for a serviced apartment which would not only be more economical it would have the comfort of a home away from home.

We agreed to that and asked her what was to be done next. She asked me if I had opted for VAD and I said that I had already got one implanted. She was happy to hear that and she asked us to give her a couple of days to get back to us. In the meanwhile, she asked us to send the medical reports that I already had. We immediately sent her the medical reports and she answered the mail saying that she would show them to a transplant specialist and get back to us. Just as she had promised the lady called after two days and said that according to the reports, I was eligible for a heart transplant, but this would again be verified by the team of transplant specialists in India.

We asked her how much time would the paperwork for the medical visa would take. She said that it would take around a month and till then I should take care of my health. She had sent us the list of doctors and the hospitals they were associated with. All the doctors had excellentcredentials, but somehow the face of Dr. Sandeep Attawar best heart transplant surgeon in India appealed to us the most. He seemed to have a very warm and trustworthy air about him and we told the India cardiac surgery site representative of our choice. She said that we had chosen well because Dr. Attawar was a veteran not just at heart transplant but also multiple organ transplants. None of the surgeries that he had performed had gone wrong and he was very popular with medical tourists.

She said that she would pass on my medical reports to him and as far as his schedule was concerned then he would be on stand by once I was cleared for the transplant surgery by the team of transplant specialists including Dr. Attawar. This is because there was no certainty when we could find a donor and the team had to be prepared for any time that a donor’s heart was available. She said that we need not worry about the procedure for procuring the donor heart because they did not believe in underhand methods there. They had associations with several organizations that specialized in procuring organs from donors. The donors during their lifetime had given consent to the donation of their body organs and their families were also taken into consideration before the organ was obtained from them. She said that usually, they were able to find donor heart within a week of the patient landing in the hospital because the organizations that they were associated with had large networks that kept a lookout for organ donors.

She asked us to send our travel documents which we did and she said that she would get back to us in a day’s time. We got a call from her and she said that we should start planning for the trip to India. On average, heart transplant patients needed to stay in India for 3 to 4 months. This is because after the surgery there would be a waiting period while the patient recuperated and had to be kept in the hospital while all the vital signs were monitored. It was also necessary to keep the patient in the hospital for at least 15 days because if there were any complications, they could be dealt with. At the same time, after the surgery, I would have to be monitored as an outpatient for three months. It was only after that I would be able to return to Sudan and my wife and children. She asked us to prepare for the trip both mentally and physically. She said that apart from the team of transplant specialists a psychologist would also assess my mental condition and say whether I was mentally fit for the surgery. The psychological and social factors can greatly affect how the patient recuperates after the transplant.

We waited with bated breath for the day we were to embark on the journey. I and Ali boarded the flight to India, and by that time my wife also had calmed down to a great extent. My daughter offered to take her mother to her own place until the time that I would be in India. In the flight special arrangements had been made for me due to my condition at the behest of the travel agency. We landed in India and we were picked up by a smart young man who knew about my condition and he drove us straight to our apartment. The apartment was clean and cosy and was fully serviced. Even the food was taken care of and there were many food delivery options as well. The young man said that we should eat and take rest for the night because the next day morning he would appear to take us to meet Dr. Attawar.

He appeared sharp at 10 AM and took us straight to the hospital. We were very happy to see the excellent infrastructure and cleanliness of the hospital. It did not have the depressing aura that most hospitals do and instead instilled confidence in us. Dr. Attawar was a fit man who had a warm and friendly appearance. However, a few minutes of conversation with him also made me feel that he was also a thorough man who did not do things halfway. We told him that we had done extensive online research on Heart Transplant Surgery in India and I was scared of the after-effects. To this Dr. Attawar said that I need not worry, because in most cases the surgery if done properly was a success. He said that none of the surgeries that he performed had gone wrong. I considered this a good omen and the surgeon went on to explain the procedure of the surgery.

The surgery took several hours and was conducted under general anaesthesia. During the surgery, I would be put on a ventilator and a heart-lung bypass machine which keeps the blood flowing through the body. The chest cavity would be opened up and the diseased heart would be removed and the new one will be sewn in place. The donor’s heart starts beating when the blood flows through it but sometimes an electric shock has to be used to make it work. After the procedure, I would be kept in the Intensive care unit for a few days and then moved to the regular room. The professional and crisp attitude of the doctor enhanced my confidence in him and I felt relaxed. In the next few days, I underwent a blood test and other physical examinations. These were conducted at the same hospital to avoid hassles. Then again I would see the psychologist for a few days. All the physical tests and the psychologist gave their go-ahead for the transplant surgery.

When this matter was made known to our medical tourism agency they started their lookout for a donor’s heart. We had to wait for 10 days when they got the donor’s heart, and Ali and I immediately went to the hospital which was very close to the apartment where we were putting up. I was immediately prepared for the surgery and taken to the operation room. Soon everything blacked out as I saw the team of the specialists and the comforting face of Dr. Attawar going about their work. When I woke up several hours later I was attached to tubes. The nurse said that the tubes were to drain the excess fluid from the different parts of my body. Of course, there was also the IV which was pumping medicines into my blood.

As per Dr. Attawar, I was doing exceptionally well and there were no signs of any complications. I was moved to the regular room and slowly all the drains were taken out of my body. I moved to the apartment after 10 days at the hospital and then came the regular visits to the hospital. During this time, my wife arrived from Sudan so that Ali could go back to his work and family. The rest of my stay in India was without any events and I returned to Sudan hale and hearty. Of course, I would have to be careful with my health and take the precautions that the doctor had asked me to take. Life was altered in a major way, but I thanked the donor whose heart had enabled me to live life properly again. I am thankful for my Successful Heart Transplant Surgery in India and the doctor and the team of India Cardiac Surgery Site-a group of surgeons and hospitals.

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