CHENNAI: Rela Hospital successfully performed a complex bilateral lung transplant on an 18-year- old girl from Thoothukudi who had been battling Post-TB Bilateral Bronchiectasis, a condition in which damage to the bronchial tubes (airways) of both lungs occurs as a consequence of a previous tuberculosis infection. The girl had contracted a tuberculosis infection when she was eight years old but her condition worsened and she required 24/7 oxygen support. The lungs were harvested from a brain-dead patient in Thanjavur and brought to Rela Hospital.
An expert medical team headed by Dr Srinath Vijayasekaran, Director of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Heart & Lung Transplantation, and Dr Aishwarya Rajkumar, Clinical Lead of Transplant Pulmonology, Rela Hospital, performed the surgery in about four hours. Professor Mohamed Rela, Chairman and Managing Director, Rela Hospital said,
“Performing a bilateral lung transplantation is always a significant challenge, and in this case, it was compounded by girl’s severe pulmonary hypertension. She required frequent hospitalisation, and even days before surgery was in a critical condition, which made the procedure even more complex.”