KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Housewife Tan Geek Koon, the country’s latest heart transplant patient, has begun eating three days after undergoing the surgery to receive the organ of a teenage male who died in an accident in Ipoh.
National Heart Institute (IJN) chief cardiothoracic surgeon Datuk Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub said the 41-year-old mother of four was in stable condition after Tuesday’s surgery.
“Madam Tan was still placed in the Intensive Care Unit as a precaution to protect her from any infection. For the last two days, she has been recovering very well and progressing as we wanted and today, she can sit up and is currently taking food,” he told reporters at IJN here today.
He also read out a message from the grateful Tan’s family.
The SMS reads: “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the family of the donor. No words could describe how we feel. As Buddhists, we pray for his soul to attain Nirvana, we pray for him to rest in peace. Please convey our gratitude to the family.”
Dr Mohd Azhari also thanked the donor’s family for the heart which was flown here by a naval helicopter.
“IJN would like to thank the donor family for making the precious gift possible to help. The donor was a teenager of 17 years old from Kampar who was declared brain dead after an accident in Ipoh on last Monday,” he said.
He said the seven-hour surgery, which included removing the mechanical heart device used by Tan since November last year, went smoothly and Tan was fully conscious on Wednesday.
The team was led by Dr Mohd Azhari and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Mohd Nazeri Nordin, other specialists and another 25 personnel including eight from the Ipoh Hospital.
Tan’s heart failed after she delivered her fourth child.
Dr Mohd Azhari said IJN had performed 20 heart transplants on 19 patients since 1997 and there were eight more patients waiting for donors.
Among them is Chen Winnie, 24, who is entering a critical stage because her mechanical heart will stop working by April next year. — Bernama
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