The Wroclaw hospital is the sixth medical centre in Poland that can perform heart transplantations. The Ministry of Health issued a favourable decision in this matter at the beginning of February this year. Previously, patients qualified for heart transplantation had been referred to other centres, mainly to Zabrze and Warsaw.
The first heart transplantation in Lower Silesia took place on 25th February 2021
The recipient of the first heart in Lower Silesia is a 26-year-old man with a diagnosed heart failure in the course of congenital dilated cardiomyopathy. After many years of successful pharmacotherapy, his disease sharply aggravated after COVID-19 infection.
The operation started on Thursday morning 25th February. The organ was obtained from a donor from a hospital in Lower Silesia. Only 2 hours and 20 minutes passed from the collection of the heart till its transplantation. The operation lasted less than one hour.
The head of the team that performed both of these transplantations was Roman Przybylski, PhD – an experienced heart surgeon, who had worked in the Silesian Heart Disease Centre in Zabrze and Kraków and learned his profession from Professors Zbigniew Religa and Marian Zembala. These are the 301th and 302th transplantations that he has performed.
‘I feel good. This is a godsend – as if I had hit the jackpot. Now I would like to see my family and friends, who give me huge support. I hope that I can spend this Easter at home. This will be the best holiday,’ said Paweł – the first patient who has had his heart transplanted in Wroclaw – a few days ago.
The second heart transplantation in Lower Silesia took place on 27th February 2021
The second heart transplantation was performed on Friday 27th February 2021 in a 20-year-old woman who had been admitted to the Wroclaw hospital from Wałbrzych in a state of cardiogenic shock.
In this case, the donor of the heart for transplantation was found at the last moment in Ostrołęka. As doctors point out, time plays a crucial role in heart transplantations. In the case of the heart, the period of ischaemia (from the collection of the organ till its implantation) should not exceed four hours. This was done successfully with help from the police, which transported the heart by helicopter.
The operation was successful, but, because of her serious condition, the patient still requires intensive therapy.
Currently, one patient is waiting for the urgent heart transplantation in the Wroclaw hospital at ul. Borowska. There are also a few persons in the “planned group”.
