Today I experienced my first ever (but first of many, I'm sure) heart transplant surgeries. It was SO AWESOME! I was not able to get much history about the person who received the heart, however, I know that this day will change her life forever. This woman had been implanted with a ventricular assist device in October. Although the new pumps are more mobile than they were in the past (the device is implanted into her body and a cord runs from the device and into a machine that is in a rolling suitcase) it must be such a heavy burden to not only be chained to a machine that is doing the work of your heart but also to be waiting for a chance to get a new heart and not knowing if and when that will happen.
I was on the team that got the recipient ready to receive the new heart. Another team flew on a helicopter to the city where the organ was harvested. I also do not know the history of the donor of the heart but believe that this person had been in a car accident. Our two teams kept in close contact through phone calls so that we could time each step to insure that as soon as the heart was brought to the OR we would be ready to transplant it. Getting the woman's old heart and VAD out took about 3 hours. We went on cardiopulmonary bypass to do this. When the team came in with the heart we packed it in ice until the doctors were ready to inspect it and begin the 5 anastomosis that would give this woman a brand new lease on life.
The recipient was in her 40's and the donor was 23 years old. The donor heart was beautiful and after all the tissues had been sewn together and we let it start to beat it took off just like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I was really amazed at how adaptable our bodies and organs are. The doctors I worked with were aware it was my first time and took extra care to tell me exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it. They were very patient with me and it was evident that they were excited to be doing this type of work and cared very much about this woman's outcome. I just love my new job and the people I work with.
2 comments:
I bet that WAS very interesting and exciting. Thanks for sharing it.
What an awesome story! I am excited for you that you had doctors that were patient enough to help you learn and have a good experience from this. Now you will have good memories and make you a better Surgical Tech. I hope I havn't slaughtered your title. Thanks for sharing with us.
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