Every Hopkins education session about transplant surgery is sure to bring to light new information for patients. That is why, on the evening of August 8, 2006, patients awaiting transplantation and those who had already undergone successful transplant operations gathered at the main Johns Hopkins hospital to hear from Dr. Ashish Shah, a Hopkins surgeon who performs both the lung and heart transplant surgeries.
Dr. Shah helped patients and their friends and families understand how far heart and lung transplantation has come since the earliest days. He compared quality of life and length of life predictions from the transplant operations five decades ago to now. When heart and lung transplant operations were first performed in the 1960s, transplant patients could be expected to live for a matter of days. But with today’s advanced medical management experiences and newer medications, patients can expect to live for years to come and to resume most of the activities they took on before they became ill. "If you were working before you underwent transplantation, you can pretty much expect to be able to work after transplantation," Dr. Shah says. However, he did caution about certain jobs. For instance, a lung transplant recipient may not be able to take on a position in the construction industry where the dust-filled environment might damage a new set of lungs.
Success after transplantation has a lot to do with your mental attitude and physical condition before your operation. Dr. Shah highlighted the need for each transplant candidate to exercise the mind, as well as the body. His advice rang true with the transplant recipients who were present that evening.
In transplantation, as well as other medical fields, patients need to learn as much as they can so that they make informed choices. They often face an abundance of information. For example, during the 45-minute presentation, Dr. Shah talked about the surgical procedures, risks of transplantation, the functions of the medical team, statistics on post transplant experiences and he answered patients’ questions about how the immune system works and reacts to medications. Heart recipient, Patricia Burnside commented that in preparing for transplantation, individuals must carefully sort through information. "Everybody’s going to have a war story they want to share with you and you can come away thinking only about the worst that can happen. But you have to pay attention to your medical team and realize that what other people say may not tell you the whole situation. Beyond all else, you have a strong, positive attitude, and that will help get you through to transplantation and beyond."
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At the evening session, Dr. Shah, Hopkins cardio-thoracic transplant surgeon presented data on how active lung and heart Hopkins patients have been after their transplants. The slides shown above indicate that more than 80% of heart and lung transplant recipients have no activity limitation at all. Most individuals are back to doing the things that they loved before they experienced end stage organ disease. Dr. Shah reminded the audience that being active, even when waiting for a transplant, can help patients have a smoother recovery. |
Obesity is also a problem for pre- and post-transplant patients. "Being heavy can make your post-operative course very difficult and put you at risk of developing complications," says Dr. Shah. He recognized that losing weight and exercising is not easy - particularly when you are not feeling well before your transplant - but that it is extremely important.
One of the post-transplant lung patients who attended Dr. Shah’s presentation has special experience with helping others prepare for transplantation. Today, Hopkins lung recipient, Lorraine Hamilton has undergone training to mentor patients through the time that they are awaiting transplantation. In her own experience and from helping others, Lorraine knows what it is like to fight to lose weight before transplantation. When Lorraine spoke at a past transplant patient event, she told about how she overcame many challenges pre-transplantation and is now more determined than ever to take care of herself. The individuals whom she has mentored see this as well. Through consistent support and encouragement, Lorraine helped one pre-transplant lung patient gradually build up her strength to exercise. Lorraine helped her pre-transplant friend identify small times during the day when she could do simple leg lifts or walk in place. Her friend started by doing this during one commercial as she watched television. Then, she increased it to the entire commercial break. Finally, she increased it to the time when she watched her television program, and used the commercial breaks as resting periods. After the transplant operation, her friend knew that this physical preparation would help her get out of bed in the hospital to do the walking that is so very important for recovery.
After discussing what patients can do to help themselves prepare for transplantation, Dr. Shah concluded the session by speaking about the potential changes in transplantation. He spoke about the differences in how medications affect people. Because of this, scientists are beginning to study how transplant doctors might be able to individualize medications depending upon a patient’s personal DNA composition. Transplantation has come far over the past five decades, but advancements in transplant care will continue to appear in future decades.
| Lorraine Hamilton, trained lung transplant mentor (far right) was at the session for heart and lung patients. Pictured left, is Lenora Adgebesan, also a trained lung mentor. |
Upcoming education sessions are listed on the calendar on the back of this newsletter.
"Everybody’s going to have a war story they want to share with you and you can come away thinking only about the worst that can happen. But you have to pay attention to your medical team and realize that what other people say may not tell you the whole situation. Beyond all else, you have a strong, positive attitude, and that will help get you through to
transplantation and beyond."
- Patricia Burnside, Heart Recipient
