An Iraqi man, who was injured while being held captive by kidnappers in his country, received a new lease of life after he was implanted with a high-end device that is used for patients who have reached end-stage of heart failure, authorities of a city hospital said today.
Hani Jawad Mohammed (51) was kidnapped by a local terrorist group for ransom and was shot several times while trying to escape from captivity. Presumed dead, the terrorists left him but fortunately he survived against all odds, the hospital authorities said.
"Gunshots and injuries had crippled Mohammed. And his heart due to surgeries had become very weak and needed a proper transplant," BLK Super Speciality Hospital said in a statement.
Mohammed was admitted to the hospital here and diagnosed with dialated cardiomyopathy which made him so weak that he was not able to do his day-to-day work on his own. He complained of vomiting and had severe left ventricular dysfunction - threatening heart failure, it said.
He was left with an option of either a heart transplant or an LVAD (left ventricular assist device).
LVAD is a pump that is used for patients who have reached end-stage of heart failure. It is inserted inside the patient with thin wire emerging out of the body linked to a power source outside.
He was operated recently by Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) team of BLK Heart Centre led by Dr Ajay Kaul.
"Mohammed came to us with a terminal heart condition (cardiomyopathy) which was a result of gunshot injuries he had suffered during captivity. We found that his heart was very weak and couldn't eject blood.
"We tried to treat him medically first but his breathlessness kept increasing and he was completely crippled. He was waiting for a transplant but due to acute shortage of donors it was not feasible at that point of time," Kaul said.
The six-hour-long surgery involved 12 specialists from different departments including three surgeons. Post implanting the LVAD, the patient is doing fine and is back to his normal life in Iraq, the hospital authorities said.
"Even if a heart is not available (for transplant), he can survive for 10 years on this miniature machine," the doctor claimed.
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