MGM Healthcare Organises CME on Heart &Lung Transplant, and Mechanical Circulatory Support & ECMO
MGM Healthcare, a renowned quaternary care hospital in Chennai, organised a CME for doctors and healthcare experts in the city. The program focused on the advancements in Heart &Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support & ECMO.
The CME featured India’s leading Heart &lung transplant and critical care team from MGM Healthcare including, Dr. K R Balakrishnan, Chairman – Cardiac Sciences, Director – Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, Dr. Suresh RaoKG, Co-Director Heart & Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support and Dr. Soumitra Sinha Roy, senior consultant, department of Lung Transplant & Interventional, Pulmonology/ Respiratory Medicine, MGM Healthcare, Chennai.
Experts have shared valuable insights into groundbreaking techniques and significant advancements in heart and lung transplantation, as well as the transformative impact of ECMO and other life-saving procedures. Heart and lung transplantation is an intricate surgical intervention where diseased organs are replaced with healthy donor counterparts, offering hope to individuals afflicted with end-stage heart and lung conditions. These conditions include dilated cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, other cardiomyopathies, cardiogenic shock, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension.
For such patients, interventions like heart-and-lung transplantation, left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provide an opportunity for enhanced clinical outcomes—improved quality of life, restored physiological function, and prolonged survival.
ECMO is an advanced life-support technique that temporarily assumes the role of the heart and lungs, providing oxygenation and circulation when these vital organs are failing. In the context of lung transplantation, ECMO is an invaluable bridge, sustaining patients through critical phases, whether awaiting donor organs or recovering post-transplant. ECMO support can save patients with severe heart and lung failure, allowing for organ recovery or bridging to heart or lung transplantation. In cases of severe cardiopulmonary compromise, ECMO is a critical intervention. It requires careful management in a specialized setting and we have been to establish a ECMO program at MGM Healthcare.
The integration of ECMO into the lung transplantation process has revolutionized patient outcomes. By minimizing the time spent on a transplant waiting list and allowing patients to recover in a stabilized condition, ECMO serves as a critical tool in the pursuit of positive long-term outcomes.
Dr. K R Balakrishnan, Chairman – Cardiac Sciences, Director – Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare, said, “When a patient’s heart or lung disease has reached its latter stages, a heart or lung transplant is recommended. The term “end-stage heart / lung disease” refers to a condition that has advanced to the point where the heart or lung’s ability to function is severely threatened. Most patients receive a heart or lung disease diagnosis before it develops to the terminal stage. Thus, heart or lung transplantation may be a possibility for anyone with end-stage disease.
MGM Healthcare’s Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support has performed 750 + heart and lung transplants in India. The team is responsible of managing India’s largest adult and paediatric heart and lung transplant programme.
