Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplant(Bone Marrow Transplant)
Faith has a state-of-the-art Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant/Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. The Bone Marrow Transplant ( BMT) unit is housed in the Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center (MSMC) building at Faith Health City, Bangalore. The BMT unit has completed over 600 stem cell transplants till date - which is one of the largest in India and the highest in Karnataka with excellent results. The BMT unit in Health City has emerged as a referral centre for national and international patients for both autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants. Patients from Oman, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Nepal,Pakistan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Myanamar and other countries have been treated successfully with stem cell transplant at our BMT unit.
Recently we have also started a cord blood banking facility in collaboration with Rotary International, which functions both as a public and private cord blood facility. With a large number of cord blood units being available in our country, cord blood transplants can be offered to a large number of patients who do not have HLA matched sibling donors.
Artificial Heart And Heart Transplant
Heart disease is rapidly becoming a major health concern in our country. What is alarming is that many of these patients are young and are first diagnosed in advanced and terminal stages of the disease, with heart failure. Heart failure is a stage wherein the heart can't function adequately to meet the demands of the body. The patient feels tired, breathless and his body swells up with fluid accumulation. These patients can be managed with medications for some time. However, in terminal stages the medications lose their efficacy and the patient finds it difficult to even speak a few words, walk a few steps or lie down flat.
However, there is hope for such patients. The gold standard in treatment for such patients is Heart Transplantation. The source for a heart is a brain dead patient, i.e., a patient in coma who has no chance of recovering. If the heart in such a patient is normal and functioning, it can be harvested and transplanted to a patient with terminal heart failure. These patients can recover fully and get back to a normal life. Faith Health City, Bangalore is one of the very few centres in the country with an active transplant program.
For patients who are in dire need of a heart transplant and no organ is available, mechanical pumping devices called Ventricular Assist devices or Artificial Hearts are available. These are small pumps which are implanted inside the body, which take over the function of the heart. They run on small 12 volt rechargeable batteries. These batteries and a small controller are situated outside the body and are connected to the pump inside by a small cable that passes through the skin above the umbilicus. They can be left in place until an organ is available for transplant. With technological advancements, the devices currently available are compact, efficient, reliable and very long lasting. They can now be used as alternatives to transplant!
A patient has to be first evaluated to assess the suitability for undergoing an artificial heart implantation. After the surgery, these patients can return to full active life, with very few limitations. Faith has the credit of being the first Hospital in entire Asia to have implanted the latest 3rd generation device for the first time in 2008. Currently we have on offer a device called Heartmate II, made by an American company called Thoratec.
Kidney Transplant - Adult
Often kidney function is not optimized and advanced chronic kidney diseases are diagnosed. For such patients have three options available to manage this problem - haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or kidney transplant. Depending on age and the stage of the kidney disease, a nephrologist decides the course of treatment. A successful kidney transplant when indicated provides better quality of life as it prevents long-term issues related to dialysis.
A relatively new procedure Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy which is minimally invasive is performed in donor surgeries for transplantation. In this procedure the donor’s kidney is surgically removed through a keyhole. This becomes a boon for the donor since the recovery process is very quick.
Our experienced surgeons ensure care that gives a speedy recovery, renewed strength and vigour for a fresh start in life. The support of our excellent infrastructure and advanced diagnostic facility only adds to our ability to ensure happy endings.
Kidney Transplant - Paediatric
Latest medical and technical expertise on global level has made the kidney transplant a successful modality of treatment for patients with reduced or negligible kidney functions. Paediatric Kidney transplant in children less than 18 years has become a reality with very good and encouraging outcomes in form of extremely good quality of life after transplant. It is a general thought in society that kidney transplant is not an option in children and finding a suitable donor for kidney is not possible.
Current medical advancements have made it a reality in children who are over 15 kg of weight and above 4 years of age. Such children can easily accommodate new kidney from adults and the most easily accessible source are one of the Parents or Grandparents who in most cases are willing to donate it to their loving baby. The living donor transplant with either of parents/ grandparents are medically more suitable donors owing to higher chance of genetic matching and hence better post-transplant outcome. In a way they give life to their child once again.
At Faith, we have team of well trained and experienced doctors who are well equipped to manage such transplantation procedures in small children as per the Human Organ Transplantation Act. It comprises of Paediatric Nephrologist who is the anchor of the procedure, Paediatric Surgeons, Urologists and Transplant Coordinator. We have well equipped dedicated Paediatric Transplant Units and Transplant Nursing Units which are equipped to take care of the children very well.
Our aim at Faith is to provide children who have been diagnosed with kidney failure and are either on dialysis or without dialysis, a new lease of life with transplantation and give them a normal childhood where they grow in healthy adults and fulfil their dreams.
Surgical procedures that are taken care at Faith include Paediatric Kidney Transplantation, Pyeloplasty, Ureteric Re-implantation, PUV Fulguration, Augmentation Cystoplasty.
Cadaveric Kidney Transplant is suitable for children who do not have a medically fit donor and is also a good option considering a better quality of life after transplant than being on dialysis.
Paediatric Liver Transplant
Faith conducts complex liver surgeries with intra-operative ultrasound guidance, thus making these procedures safer with better outcomes and quicker recovery. Children with liver cancer and chronic liver disease are also given the option of liver transplant, which Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center in Bangalore has been conducting. This department is a comprehensive one-stop facility for treatment of all kind of gastro-intestinal tract anomalies.
Through a liver transplant surgery a diseased liver is replace with a healthy liver from donor not necessarily related. Many people have had liver transplants and now lead normal lives. One of the most common reasons for liver transplant is cirrhosis caused by healthy liver cells being replaced with scarred tissues. Some other indications are: