Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital

Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital successfully carried out a cardiac transplantation on March 12, 2017. It was the hospital's first heart transplantation since its opening, and was the first successful operation in South Gyeonggi Province as well. Last year, the hospital succeeded in both kidney transplantation and cornea transplantation. Following these accomplishments, the hospital became a Mecca for organ transplant in Gyeonggi province.

While being treated at another hospital for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, the patient experienced an exacerbation of heart failure, and was transferred to Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital. After the successful surgery, the patient received hospital treatment for about a month and was discharged.

Most hearts must be transplanted within 4 hours after removal from the donor. Because the donor was in Busan, there was a lot of concern over the probability of success, which turned out to be needless after all. Prof. Man Shik Shim of Thoracic Surgery and his team extracted the heart from the donor in Busan, and promptly moved it to the hospital. Then, Prof. Jae Jin Lee of Thoracic Surgery and his team began the surgery at 8pm, and finished the transplantation within 4 hours.

Dr. Jong Chan Youn, Associate Professor of Cardiology at the Cardiovascular Center said, "Heart transplantation can be performed under the circumstances where the whole system of hospital is perfect. Therefore, I think the success has more significant meaning in terms of not only the surgery itself but the competitiveness of the hospital."

By Chul Kwon, Int’l Cooperation Team, HUMC (chris@hallym.or.kr)