CHENNAI: Kravchenko Igor, a sailor from Ukraine, may never go back to the sea. But the 46-year-old has amazed transplant surgeons because he will breathe easy on land after a severe lung failure that took him to the brink of death.
Igor had less than 5% chance of survival when doctors wheeled him in for a transplant; the post-surgical complications pulled down chances further. But he fought back. "It's my second life and I will now live it wisely," he told reporters as his family and doctors nodded.
Seven years ago, Igor complained of discomfort while walking. Doctors in his hometown, Odessa, could not diagnose the problem, but treated him for breathlessness. In 2014, Igor was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease - a condition that causes scars in the lung tissue and air sacs. It affected his lung function, and oxygen saturation dropped by 70% despite support. Igor stopped walking last September. A lung transplant became inevitable, but such surgeries were illegal in Ukraine.
In May, after searching online, Igor and his family decided to fly down to Chennai for a surgery at Fortis Malar Hospital. When doctors saw him, he wasn't fit for transplant. In a few days, his condition worsened and doctors connected him to a ventilator and another machine - venovenous ECMO - which facilitated gas exchange from the venous side and pumped it back. He developed blood infections. While on ventilator, his heart stopped at least thrice. "We resuscitated him. There were suggestions to take him off the transplant waiting list," said Dr K R Balakrishnan, senior transplant surgeon.
The wait was getting longer because the priority is given to Indian recipients, and he had O+ blood group, something which many patients awaiting lungs have. On June 3, nearly a month after he was on the ventilator, the hospital received a call about a suitable organ from a brain-dead patient. Surgeons thought they should give up the lung for someone who has a better chance of survival. "I saw his wife sitting alone, crying. My emotion took over science. I decided to go ahead with the transplant," said Dr Balakrishnan.
Cardiac anaesthetist Dr Suresh Rao recalled the 'tense moments' during and after the surgery. "His respiratory muscles were weak and were refusing to support normal breathing," he said. Doctors made a hole in the windpipe to help him breathe. "Igor had a leak between bronchi and the lung - a risk that could make the transplant redundant," said Dr Rao. The hospital flew in a Coimbatore-based surgeon to insert a stent to plug the leak. It worked.
On Tuesday, he climbed stairs after doctors declared him fit for discharge. "I've won," said Igor, having an ice-cream.
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