First heart implant patient: “I have a new lease on life”
Mohammed awada returns home after grueling surgery
Mohammed Awada is returning home for the first time since his life-saving artificial heart implant operation which was the first of its kind in Lebanon. “I am alive. When I came here I was almost dead,” says a relieved and happy Awada. “It is all thanks to Dr Skouri, Dr. Sfeir and the entire team at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre (AUBMC).”
The operation was performed on August 28 but due to the intensity of post-operation treatment Awada, a 37-year-old father of four, is only able to go home now. He was meant to leave the hospital yesterday evening but the medical team at AUBMC felt that his family needed an additional day of training in order to give Awada the care he needs.
This care involves knowing how to monitor the small device which is attached to Awada’s belt and which controls the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). The LVAD was inserted into his defective heart and has now taken over the functions of the left ventricle, the dominant chamber which is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood via the aorta to the rest of the body.
“I’m at 80 percent” of full health, says Awada. “The device has allowed me to see my children again,” his optimism not being dampened by the oxygen tank he will need for a few more days.
“In two months the patient can expect to go back to his normal routine,” says Skouri, Awada’s cardiologist. Until then Awada will be under frequent medical supervision. This will include checkups from specialists sent by Thoratec, the American company that makes ‘Heartmate II,’ the LVAD used in the surgery.
It has been a long healing process. For six weeks before the surgery Awada was bedridden, which caused his muscles to deteriorate. “Before the surgery merely lifting an arm would knock the wind out of me. I could barely breathe. Now, I have a new lease on life,” he says. Since the operation the medical team have been treating the wound on his chest, where the device was inserted, and using dialysis to help his kidneys.
However, the operation is not a permanent solution. The LVAD operation has only been used for five years and though Skouri says “the patients that had the operation in 2004 are still fine” it is unknown how long the device remains effective for. The doctors at AUBMC want Awada to lose weight in order for him to become eligible for a heart transplant in the future.
A heart transplant carries yet more risks, assuming one is available which is not always so given the rarity of obtaining them. A heart can be rejected by a patient’s immune system. The LVAD runs less risk of rejection but a patient still has to take drugs to make sure it is accepted by the body.
The operation has not been carried out in Lebanon before due to the difficulty of finding a patient that suits both the medical and financial criteria. Awada’s operation cost $150,000, which was paid for by his employer Byblos Bank. Awada was understandably keen to demonstrate his thanks to the bank for saving his life. Lifesaving banks being a rarity, especially during the credit crunch.