WHAT IS A HEART TRANSPLANT? WHO CAN HAVE A HEART TRANSPLANTATION?
Heart transplantation can be performed for patients who cannot meet the needs of our body, whose pumping power is exhausted, who are not able to perform other cardiac surgery or cardiological interventions, who receive very intense medical support treatment, who have months, weeks, or even days to survive. However, these patients and their relatives must be prone to this type of treatment, adaptable and suitable for education.
CAN A HEART TRANSPLANT BE PERFORMED FOR EVERY PATIENT IN NEEDED?
The most important factor limiting this is the lack of cadaver donor (donor). At least 600-800 heart transplants are required annually in our country. Our country has not yet reached the number of 100 heart transplants per year.
HOW DOES THE HEART TRANSPLANT PROCESS WORK? BEFORE, OPERATION AND AFTER
Generally, these patients are the patients who have frequently applied to their doctor due to heart problems and even hospitalized frequently. Or, these patients may have had a previous heart operation, one or more of the cardiological interventions may have been performed. They may have just gotten sick. These and similar patients, that is, these patients who are undergoing treatment with heart failure, are examined in terms of heart transplantation and mechanical heart support systems. These reviews are very detailed. Your doctor will inform you of both the results of the requested tests and the final council decision.
IF THE COUNCIL'S DECISION IS A HEART TRANSPLANTATION
The decision of the council of the patient who is decided to have a heart transplant is notified to the heart transplant national coordination center. The cardiac waiting period with pre-determined conditions has begun. The patients on the waiting list of our Ministry are the patient lists arranged according to the patient's condition as an emergency and elective waiting list.
HEART TRANSPLANT PROCESS
It is race against time. Two teams are required. The task of the first team is to go to the donor hospital, to ensure the suitability of the donor and to remove the donor heart in accordance with the process, to protect its vitality and to deliver it to the heart transplant center operating room as quickly as possible. These stages are coordinated by specially trained heart center coordinators. The heart, which has been delivered to the heart transplant center, is impatient to regain its new body. The time spent in the ultra-modern operating room is completed by using all the opportunities of open heart surgery. The first heartbeats that start in the new body are the greatest gift for the team.
INTENSIVE CARE PROCESS
After the transfer, our patient is taken to the ultra equipped intensive care unit, which we call clean room, with a special ventilation. Our transplant patient, who will stay in this room for 3-4 days, opens his/her eyes to his new heart and new life. The transplant patient is tried to be calmed down with the commands given as "Do not get excited at all, follow the orders of the staff". The troubled time period in intensive care will be short.
SERVICE
After the intensive care period, the service period will start for 10 days a week, depending on the patient's situation. Here, both the patient and their relatives are trained by their doctors and staff about what to pay attention to in your next life. Some drugs are drugs to be used for life. It should be used without delay.
Periodic checks of the patient are made after discharge. The blood levels of the drugs used in these controls, the rhythm of the heart with ECG, etc., the contraction force of the heart and the valves, etc. with ECO are checked. These examinations are generally examinations made within a program. The patients must comply with the given control programs.
Are there other applications for patients who have not received a heart transplant?
The patients waiting for a heart transplant are increasingly approaching emergency situation. Heart machines, which we call 'mechanical heart support systems', can come to the rescue of patients in such cases.
CAN THESE MACHINES BE PERFORMED TO EVERY PATIENT?
These machines also have application conditions. Sometimes these machines; They can be 'a bridge to healing', sometimes a 'bridge to a heart transplant', a 'bridge to the doctor's decision' and sometimes a 'bridge to survival' for a while. They cannot be performed to every patient.
Heart transplantation can be performed for patients who cannot meet the needs of our body, whose pumping power is exhausted, who are not able to perform other cardiac surgery or cardiological interventions, who receive very intense medical support treatment, who have months, weeks, or even days to survive. However, these patients and their relatives must be prone to this type of treatment, adaptable and suitable for education.
CAN A HEART TRANSPLANT BE PERFORMED FOR EVERY PATIENT IN NEEDED?
The most important factor limiting this is the lack of cadaver donor (donor). At least 600-800 heart transplants are required annually in our country. Our country has not yet reached the number of 100 heart transplants per year.
HOW DOES THE HEART TRANSPLANT PROCESS WORK? BEFORE, OPERATION AND AFTER
Generally, these patients are the patients who have frequently applied to their doctor due to heart problems and even hospitalized frequently. Or, these patients may have had a previous heart operation, one or more of the cardiological interventions may have been performed. They may have just gotten sick. These and similar patients, that is, these patients who are undergoing treatment with heart failure, are examined in terms of heart transplantation and mechanical heart support systems. These reviews are very detailed. Your doctor will inform you of both the results of the requested tests and the final council decision.
IF THE COUNCIL'S DECISION IS A HEART TRANSPLANTATION
The decision of the council of the patient who is decided to have a heart transplant is notified to the heart transplant national coordination center. The cardiac waiting period with pre-determined conditions has begun. The patients on the waiting list of our Ministry are the patient lists arranged according to the patient's condition as an emergency and elective waiting list.
HEART TRANSPLANT PROCESS
It is race against time. Two teams are required. The task of the first team is to go to the donor hospital, to ensure the suitability of the donor and to remove the donor heart in accordance with the process, to protect its vitality and to deliver it to the heart transplant center operating room as quickly as possible. These stages are coordinated by specially trained heart center coordinators. The heart, which has been delivered to the heart transplant center, is impatient to regain its new body. The time spent in the ultra-modern operating room is completed by using all the opportunities of open heart surgery. The first heartbeats that start in the new body are the greatest gift for the team.
INTENSIVE CARE PROCESS
After the transfer, our patient is taken to the ultra equipped intensive care unit, which we call clean room, with a special ventilation. Our transplant patient, who will stay in this room for 3-4 days, opens his/her eyes to his new heart and new life. The transplant patient is tried to be calmed down with the commands given as "Do not get excited at all, follow the orders of the staff". The troubled time period in intensive care will be short.
SERVICE
After the intensive care period, the service period will start for 10 days a week, depending on the patient's situation. Here, both the patient and their relatives are trained by their doctors and staff about what to pay attention to in your next life. Some drugs are drugs to be used for life. It should be used without delay.
Periodic checks of the patient are made after discharge. The blood levels of the drugs used in these controls, the rhythm of the heart with ECG, etc., the contraction force of the heart and the valves, etc. with ECO are checked. These examinations are generally examinations made within a program. The patients must comply with the given control programs.
Are there other applications for patients who have not received a heart transplant?
The patients waiting for a heart transplant are increasingly approaching emergency situation. Heart machines, which we call 'mechanical heart support systems', can come to the rescue of patients in such cases.
CAN THESE MACHINES BE PERFORMED TO EVERY PATIENT?
These machines also have application conditions. Sometimes these machines; They can be 'a bridge to healing', sometimes a 'bridge to a heart transplant', a 'bridge to the doctor's decision' and sometimes a 'bridge to survival' for a while. They cannot be performed to every patient.
This content was published by the medical editorial board on 22.02.2021 and updated on 12.08.2024.
