Vietnam's hospital conducts 1st heart-kidney transplant

Hanoi [Vietnam], February 25: A hospital in Vietnam's capital Hanoi has conducted a successful heart and kidney transplant on a 37-year-old man who had lived with a disease of the heart muscle for more than a decade, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday.
The 10-hour operation, carried out on Feb. 15, was done by a team of 80 surgeons, anesthesiologists and other medical staff.
The recipient started developing dilated cardiomyopathy symptoms 11 years ago which later led to heart failure, heartbeat disorder and eventually end-stage kidney disease. Before the operation, he had lived on dialysis for about six years and his number of emergency admissions to hospital had also risen over time for acute heart failure.
The need for a double transplant turned into a matter of urgency when his condition didn't respond to medical treatments as expected, doctors said.
His chance came in February when the organs from a brain-dead organ donor proved a match.
After the operation, the patient's transplanted heart and kidney are reported to function properly without medical support equipment.
Source: Xinhua