The first successful lung transplant surgery in Bengal and Eastern India was performed on Swapnil Biswas, a 16-year-old patient with respiratory distress brought on by accidental paraquat ingestion, at Medica Superspecialty Hospital, the largest private hospital chain in Eastern India. Due to its inherent toxicity and lack of available therapies, paraquat has a very high case fatality rate.

The operation took place at the hospital under the guidance of Dr. Kunal Sarkar, Senior Vice Chairman & Senior Consultant of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Medica Institute of Cardiac Sciences (MICS), and Dr. Dipanjan Chatterjee, Director of ECMO and Thoracic Organ Transplant program, Physician, Head Cardiopulmonary Care SpecialistMedica Superspecialty Hospital along with the entire team comprising of Dr. Soumyajit Ghosh, Dr. Saptarshi Roy, Dr. M.B.Das, Dr. Tangyanika Koley, Dr. Hirak Majumdar, Dr. Writuparna Das, Dr. Saibal Tripathi, and Mr. Deblal Pandit.

The surgery lasted throughout the night and was completed in the early morning hours of June 25th.

On April 27, 16-year-old Swapnil Biswas from Barasat, West Bengal, was inadvertently exposed to the highly hazardous herbicide paraquat and was subsequently admitted to a nearby hospital. After being released on May 4th, he began having breathing problems on May 14th, which led to his admittance to Medica Superspecialty Hospital. His respiratory problems persisted, and on May 18, he had to be intubated. He was put on venovenous ECMO assistance the following day due to refractory hypoxia. A significant lung consolidation and fibrotic alteration were seen on a chest CT scan, which indicated substantial damage to Swapnil’s lungs. The medical team made the crucial choice to pursue a lung transplant as the only practical alternative to rescue him due to the severity of his condition and lack of improvement despite venovenous ECMO assistance for 37 days.

The hospital sent out a countrywide call for a matching organ for the lung transplant, and ROTTO (East) acted right away. They took an active part in the selection of organs. The 41-year-old patient Shri Prasenjit Mohanty had been diagnosed as brain-dead and was a good candidate for lung donation when Medica Superspecialty Hospital received word from ROTTO and NOTTO on June 23. The lung retrieval team from Medica Superspecialty Hospital quickly left on June 23 for Bhubaneshwar to remove the organ, making sure it would return to the hospital on June 24 in a safe and timely manner.

Following the lung transplant, Swapnil’s status is stable right now. He is being weaned off ventilator support progressively after the ECMO support was stopped. His rehabilitation is being carefully monitored by the medical staff, who are also giving him the care he needs.

This successful lung transplant is proof of Medica‘s constant commitment to improving lives and giving hope to people who are suffering.

Priyanka Dutta