AFTER 9 YEARS OF STRUGGLE: Janoš (62) from Niš receives a new heart, recovering successfully after transplant!

Patient Janoš Amerović (62) from Niš is recovering well seven days after undergoing a heart transplant at the National Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases “Dedinje.” The surgery was performed after he finally received a transplant following nine years of living with a mechanical pump that had replaced the function of his left ventricle.

Doctors say this is a major success for the healthcare system, as well as a highly complex procedure involving a large number of medical teams. According to the physicians, Janoš had been living with a heart pump for nine years. It was implanted in 2017 and, as they explained, literally saved his life. With his heart functioning at only about ten percent, he had no other treatment option besides a transplant.

Seven days after the operation, the patient is recovering well. Doctors have also performed follow-up examinations, and Janoš had breakfast that morning.

Dr. Petar Vuković said it is a great privilege for the medical team to be able to offer patients an organ, especially those who have long suffered from the most severe form of heart failure.

“Our patient had a pump replacing the function of his left ventricle for nine years, and now he has finally received an organ, finally received a heart,” the doctor said, emphasizing that this is a major success for the healthcare system.

He added that the transplant was the result of teamwork involving a large number of people, and that the entire process begins long before the operation itself, starting with organ procurement. The surgery itself lasted approximately four to five hours, while the entire process takes around 12 hours.

Dr. Dragana Košević described it as “a joyful day,” because after nine years with a heart pump, the patient finally received what she called the gold standard in the treatment of heart failure.

According to her, the fact that Janoš remained in good condition for so long with a mechanical pump represented a major challenge for the doctors who cared for him. The pump saved his life in 2017, and over the following nine years, doctors managed to keep his organs in good condition so that he could eventually receive a transplant.

“It is a great joy for us doctors who care for these patients and know the challenges and complications faced by patients with mechanical pumps,” said Dr. Košević.

Professor Milovan Bojić, Director of the National Institute for Heart and Blood Vessel Diseases “Dedinje,” said this transplant is particularly significant for the National Institute “Dedinje.” According to him, the first liver and heart transplants were performed at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases “Dedinje,” while this is the first heart transplant at the National Institute.

He said that “Dedinje” is, in a way, the birthplace of transplantation in Serbia, thanks to its highly qualified teams of cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and immunologists.

He also emphasized the importance of organ donation and raising awareness about organ donation.

“An organ is medicine,” Professor Bojić said, stressing that organ donation is essential to help people on transplant waiting lists.

According to him, the patient was in extremely serious condition before the transplant. He was breathing, as he vividly described it, “practically through gills,” with his heart functioning at only ten percent. His life was sustained by a mechanical pump, but over time infections caused persistent problems with components implanted in the heart muscle.

For that reason, as explained, the transplant represented a life-saving solution for him.

Doctors also pointed out that the entire team was quickly assembled once the call for the transplant arrived. They explained that the Institute has several teams, making it possible to gather the necessary staff and perform the procedure without difficulty, even during the holiday season.

During the discussion, it was emphasized that a successful transplant requires cooperation among a large number of specialists, as well as support from society and healthcare institutions.

“This is what Serbia needs. We are absolutely ready,” the team at “Dedinje” said, adding that the University Clinical Center of Serbia and the teams in Novi Sad are also prepared.

According to figures presented at the end of the discussion, there have been 22 donors and family consents this year, thanks to whose humanity and solidarity 89 tissue and organ transplants have been performed.

Of that number, 32 corneas, 41 kidneys, five livers, and 10 hearts have been transplanted.

Serbia also performed its first lung transplant in April.

Doctors therefore once again appeal for greater awareness of the importance of organ donation, because for patients waiting for a transplant, an organ can represent both a cure and a chance for a new life.

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