Syria’s Ahmed gets a new lease of life at Marengo CIMS after a successful rare lung transplant surgery

Marengo CIMS Hospital celebrates the successful recovery of Gujarat’s First-Ever Bilateral Lung transplant patient 

• The hospital aims to elevate the standard of care with a comprehensive Lung transplants Program, the best in clinical excellence in India
• This was the first-ever bi-lateral lung transplant in the state of Gujarat and the patient meets the media to enumerate his experience at the hospital
• Marengo CIMS Hospital, Ahmedabad is a preferred destination for organ transplants in the western region of the country.

BILKULONLINE

By Rafat Quadri

Ahmedabad, April 20: For Ahmad, this year’s Eid will be truly an Eid (festival). For Ahmad who is from Syria has been successfully operated in what is Marengo CIMS claims ‘the first-ever bilateral lung transplant in the State of Gujarat’. 

The 41-year-old Syrian, Ahmad, a farmer and father of three who had been bedbound for over 3 months from a deteriorating Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD or lung fibrosis), underwent the transplant procedure in January this year. The lung transplant team formed from combined expertise from Marengo Asia Hospitals CIMS and Faridabad was led by Dr Kumud Dhital, Program Director, Lung Transplantation. Dr Dhital was supported by his team from Marengo Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana comprising Dr Pradeep Kumar, Director – Anaesthesia & Critical Care, CTVS and Heart & Lung Transplant, Mr Praveen Das, Chief Perfusionist, combined with support from local experts at CIMS hospital: –  Dr Dhiren Shah, Director of CTVS and Heart & Lung Transplantation, Dr Pranav Modi, Consultant Thoracic  & Lung Transplant Surgeon, and Dr Daval Naik, Senior Consultant CTVS and Heart & Lung Transplantation.

Addressing the media and responding to the queries were Dr. Kumud Dhital, Dr. Dhiren Shah, Dr. Keyur Parikh, Dr. Pradeep Kumar, Dr. Kapil Iyer, Dr. Amit Patel and  Gaurav Rekhi, Regional Director- Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Marengo CIMS had arranged an Arabic interpreter Syed Raza for a better and smooth communication with Ahmad and today he expressed his gratitude and happiness to have been cured of the deadly disease by able doctors’ team of Ahmedabad, India.

Given his immobility and generalized weakness, he required a prolonged hospital stay and was discharged 7 weeks following the procedure. As per protocol, the patient was required to remain in Ahmedabad for at least 3 months post-operatively to comply with a rigorous post-discharge schedule of rehabilitation, medical surveillance for rejection and infection, and time necessary for him to adjust to his lifestyle and life-long medications. Ahmad is now finally ready to go back to his home nation.

Dr Kumud Dhital, Program Director Lung Transplantation, Marengo Asia Hospitals says, “Ahmad, was originally referred to me in July of 2022 with advanced lung failure resulting from Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), by a personal friend from France who was then directing a lung transplant program in the Middle East. He felt Ahmad had a better chance of receiving a timely lung transplant in India.  ILD, previously referred to as Pulmonary Fibrosis, is a disease characterized by scar tissue that progressively and irreversibly replaces normal lungs.  It typically presents with symptoms of exertional breathlessness, fatigue, and cough, to eventually full-time oxygen requirement and progressive immobility. The causes are multifactorial, such as familial, autoimmune, and exposure to birds or hazardous substances.  Approximately one million cases are reported every year in India. There has been a marked increase in regular referrals for lung transplant evaluation in Ahmedabad following this seminal case. It has been an honor to lead this large collaborative team. Aside of my clinical colleagues, I wish to extend a special thanks to the critical care nurses, the physiotherapists, the dieticians, and other allied staff for their unstinting dedication to their work.  As in Ahmad’s case, it is enormously fulfilling to see the dramatic improvement in the quality of life of those that have undergone successful lung transplantation. Ahmad is almost back to normal and will continue to improve. I wish him a safe journey back home to his family, and once again be able to play with his young children “

Lung transplantation is a highly complex but proven therapy for selected candidates for whom medical therapy is no longer effective, with a higher chance of better outcome and longer-term survival following transplantation if referred to a Lung Transplant center in a timely manner.

Dr Dhiren Shah, Director & HOD Heart Transplant Program, Marengo CIMS Hospital says, “With the success of the heart transplant Program, where we conducted 40 heart transplants, we were equipped with a senior team for the Lung Transplant Program launch to position ourselves as an emerging center of excellence for organ transplants. The Lung Transplant Program requires a very high level of clinical excellence. With the success of the first-ever bilateral lung transplant in the state of Gujarat, we are poised to create several milestones with teamwork to bring outcomes to change the face of healthcare. Lung transplantation is the only hope for patients suffering from advanced lung diseases including ILD, COPD, and Pulmonary hypertension. These conditions progressively worsen even with medical therapy. Lack of awareness is a major reason for late detection, practically at the end-stage. We hope that the success of the Lung Transplant Program at Marengo CIMS Hospital will lead to early referrals for lung Transplants resulting in saving more and more lives.”

Dr Keyur Parikh, Chairman – Marengo CIMS Hospital says, “Lung Transplant is one f the most critical and complex surgeries in the ecosystem of organ transplants. With the documented success of this very first bilateral lung transplant in the state of Gujarat, we have established not only a milestone but also a high benchmark in healthcare. With the reputation of emerging as one of the best hospitals for organ transplants in the western region of India, we have once again proven the exceptional clinical excellence and the global expertise our surgeons and doctors are equipped with.”

Dr Raajiv Singhal, Managing Director & Group CEO, Marengo Asia Hospitals says, “Every life matters, every minute counts. This is the first-ever lung transplant in Gujarat and a successful bilateral lung transplantation in Ahmedabad; a milestone achievement that will pave way for many more successful and innovative procedures to reiterate Marengo CIMS Hospital as a center of choice for people requiring lung transplants. Working with the best lung transplant specialists team in India, we have grown into a recognized healthcare facility. This is yet another benchmark in the innovative and successful delivery of quality healthcare. We aim to be a leader in organ transplantation focused on bringing global expertise and clinical excellence at international levels.”