Thammasat University Hospital shows the potential of treatment through its first successful 'heart transplant' surgery.

Monday 13 February 2023

     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pharuehas Tor-Udom, Director of Thammasat University Hospital, Thammasat University revealed that Thammasat University Hospital successfully performed heart transplant for a patient with end-stage heart failure. Thammasat University Hospital is considered the 6th hospital in Thailand with the potential to perform heart transplant surgery.

     The success is the result derived from the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team whether it is a committee to improve the quality of services for patients with heart disease, heart transplant committee and the Quality Development Committee for Cardiothoracic Surgery Patients which has a team to improve the quality of services for patients with cardiovascular disease, consisting of Thammasat Heart Center, Cardiac Critical Care Nursing, Cardiothoracic Surgery Critical Care Nursing as the initiators for preparatory treatment of patients with end-stage heart failure through heart transplantation because the patients were not responsive to drug therapy.

     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pharuehas said that in April 2022, there was a nursing team, including a care coordination nursing team, cardiovascular case management nursing team, operating room nursing team, ward nusring team and perfusionists went on an observational study at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society. Next, Thammasat Heart Center, Thammasat University Hospital has begun the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Heart Failure and Transplantation which is in coordination with various agencies to be able to treat patients with end-stage heart failure through heart transplantation.

     The center has brought patients to the assessment process, then conduct laboratory tests and additional procedures to register patients while awaiting heart donation recipients from the Organ Donation Center of the Thai Red Cross Society. The first patient of Thammasat University Hospital registered in December 2022 as a 50-year-old male patient and diagnosed with end-stage heart failure. The patient was examined and treated at the heart failure clinic by Dr. Thida Sriratana Tabuganon and Asst. Prof. Dr. Adisai Buakhamsri all along.

     The result of the heart transplant surgery was satisfactory by the medical team. The patient is now safe, showing no sign of complication and is under close follow-up by a team of doctors and nurses.

     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilok Piyayothai, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University said that it is regarded as a proud achievement to the Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University that the Thammasat University Hospital physicians were able to safely perform a heart transplant for a patient and that the Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University and a multidisciplinary team took part in delivering quality patient care. The key factor in this success is partly due to the readiness of personnel, the medical team has supported specialists in both Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and cardiologists who have been studying closely the heart transplantation and caring for patients with chronic heart failure for many years. Having worked with multidisciplinary personnel, this success therefore was achieved. The faculty is pleased and ready to provide full academic support in order to enhance the knowledge and skills of our physicians to improve the efficiency of care for cardiac patients in the future.