A heart transplant procedure is a medical procedure used to replace the heart of an ailing patient. The heart is the organ responsible for pumping blood around the body. Failure of the heart will cause the death of the individual unless there is emergency medical equipment at hand. Some hearts are excessively damaged and cannot be repaired. Patients with such hearts need a replacement heart in order to survive. Those who are lucky enough to receive donor hearts will undergo a orthotopic heart transplant procedure.
The orthotopic heart transplant surgery takes place over several hours with a team of specialist doctors. An orthotopic heart transplant is a major medical procedure that needs to be performed under extreme care. The rarity of receiving donor hearts means that doctors have to maximize the success rate of any orthotopic heart transplant. This will ensure that the orthotopic heart transplant procedure does not go to waste.
During the orthotopic heart transplant surgery, the doctors will open up the chest to reveal the heart. The blood vessels leading out of the faulty heart will be removed from the heart thus detaching the heart completely. During this part of the orthotopic heart transplant procedure, the patient will be connected to an artificial pump which pumps blood. The donor heart will then be placed and adjusted to fit properly with the blood vessels in the recipient’s body. Once this is done, the vessels are stitched up and the donor heart is restarted. This is usually done using electrical current applied through paddles.
After the orthotopic heart transplant procedure is complete, the chest cavity will be stitched up. The patient is then sent to the ICU where he or she will be closely monitored. This process goes on for a few days as the patient will be brought to consciousness. The first few days are extremely crucial when it comes to the success of an orthotopic heart transplant as there are certain orthotopic heart transplant complications that could take place. There are a few cases where organ rejection may take place in which case the patient may not survive the procedure. However, if the patient passes through the first week without any serious problems then he or she is considered to be out of risk for organ rejection.
The orthotopic heart transplant surgery is a complicated and dangerous medical procedure. It is only in recent times that success rates have climbed due to advances in medical practices. Patients who undergo heart transplants must be careful to avoid exertion for many months after the procedure.