Omnia Health is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

UChicago Medicine redefines U.S. heart transplants with an unconventional approach 

Article-UChicago Medicine redefines U.S. heart transplants with an unconventional approach 

sarah-mcpharlin-hug.jpg

It takes a confident, self-driven medical specialist with an unorthodox mindset to truly challenge the norm and establish world-class excellence in cardiac procedures, which is why U.S.-based Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, is in a league of his own. Since joining the University of Chicago Medicine in 1998 to resuscitate its cardiac surgery department, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the health system has redefined the way heart transplants are being performed in the United States. 

As he continues to lead some of the country’s breakthrough procedures with his expert knowledge, three decades of experience, and a never-ending thirst to raise the life expectancy of cardiovascular patients, UChicago Medicine has become officially recognised as the best medical centre offering the shortest waiting time for receiving a donor heart and the best survival rates in the United States for heart transplant patients. It also offers advanced bloodless cardiac surgery, which has come to the aid of several underserved communities and is home to the best robotic surgery program in the world. 

Dr. Jeevanandam, who is also Director of the Heart and Vascular Center at UChicago Medicine, has performed over 1,500 transplants and been a part of unique medical feats such as a complex back-to-back triple organ transplant performed on two patients within 27 hours. The Chief of Cardiac Surgery and UChicago Medicine’s Advanced Heart and Vascular Center are a force to reckon with. Excerpts from the interview: 

Changing the clinical mindset of transplants 

Dr. Jeevanandam explained that a cardiac transplant is divided into different phases — identification and proper timing to refer a patient, getting the patient to the transplant, acquiring donor hearts for them (which is the rate-limiting factor), and finally, identifying how to maintain patients after the transplant to ensure the longest possible care.  

“For the first part, we still have a large issue in identifying the proper patient for transplant. When they come in, one of the biggest questions a cardiologist faces is: ‘are they sick enough for transplant?’” he said, adding that cardiologists make treatment decisions based on the symptoms described by patients, who tend to downplay certain factors. As a result, medicines are prescribed for different things that keep prolonging their heart failure status to a point where other organs – kidney, liver, lungs, etc. — cease to function. 

“I think this is one of the biggest problems that we have within any healthcare system — in the nation and internationally. But while the identification of a proper transplant candidate remains a big challenge, this is something that can be improved with proper education.  

Dr. Jeevanandam added that a cardiologist’s confidence in the procedure plays a major role in changing the current landscape and transplants should not be considered a “last-ditch effort” anymore. 

“If you look at the state of transplants now, we are not talking about expected one- to five-year survival but a 10- and 20-year survival. We are already familiar with the half-life of a heart — we know that 50 percent of those patients whose heart survived the first year now live past 15 years,” he said.  

To put this into perspective, a 60-year-old male with any form of heart disease has a greater mortality rate in 10 years than if he were to get a transplant. He emphasised that medical professionals should be thinking about adding decades to a patient’s life, instead of a few years.  

Heart transplant is not an experimental procedure anymore, but it is still a limiting one. Not enough hearts are available due to the limited number of organ donors.  

“In the United States, we only conduct around 3,200 heart transplants on a yearly basis. It would be great to be able to do more with education and ongoing campaigns by professionals,” he added. 

There are some exciting alternatives on the horizon, including new pumping devices that can prolong life. Dr. Jeevanandam also highlighted post-operative management as an important component of transplants.  

“Our medications are improving and are less toxic. More importantly, we are developing methods to determine a rejection of a heart post-surgery. In the past, this used to come from biopsies, but now we have different molecular techniques that check if there is damage to the heart and if the DNA of the transplanted heart is in the patient’s blood. Nano portions of DNA can be detected to help identify rejections much early on and that is going to improve long-term results after transplantation,” he said. 

Going beyond the norm 

UChicago Medicine is geared toward greatness with Dr. Jeevanandam serving at the core of its Heart and Vascular Center. In 2015, he sparked a collaboration between cardiac surgery and cardiology, which aimed to change the narrative in heart transplants.  
 
“If we really want to be at the forefront, then we need to be able to take on very difficult patients and have great results. And so, we developed protocols in terms of preoperative assessment, listing criteria for patients and for post-operative management. It is an ongoing, living document that is reviewed weekly.” 

Dr. Jeevanandam and a team of around 50 healthcare professionals review a portion of the document every week, which includes analysing the literature, others’ medical experience, and their own experiences to update the criteria. This initiative has given high-risk patients a new lease on life.  

Through this, UChicago Medicine has established several state-of-the-art procedures that helped patients whose conditions are often turned down by other hospitals. Among these is complex and innovative bloodless heart surgery. This takes on a personalised approach and caters to conservative and underserved patients that cannot opt for transfusions or replacement blood products due to religious or personal reasons. 

In a final note, Dr. Jeevanandam said that raising the standard of heart transplants in the country requires a combination of trust and aspiration along with foundational protocols. “My philosophy is to do something different, innovative, and at the forefront, to help society. I wake up in the morning every day and ask myself: ‘what am I doing special today?’” 

Dr. Jeevanandam is gifted with a pioneering spirit that draws motivation from things others cannot do. He strives to succeed by doing extraordinary things with a sense of spirituality that has allowed him to learn from failures. “A lot of it has to do with faith and intuition, instead of following what other people tell you. Intuition, after all, is a combination of your past experiences that are congregated in the depths of your brain,” he concluded. 

Mark your calendar

The University of Chicago International Conference on Organ Transplant will take place on June 11 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Visit www.menaconference.com/events/ucicot/ for more details.

Innovative medical solutions from Fujifilm pictured at Emirates Critical Care Conference

Article-Innovative medical solutions from Fujifilm pictured at Emirates Critical Care Conference

fujifilm-at-emirates-critical-care-conference.jpg

Think “Fujifilm” and the words camera or photography will likely come to mind, the consequence of many decades of imaging excellence.

But we are more than imaging alone. Indeed, we have been making important contributions to healthcare since 1936 with the launch of our first X-ray business. 

Today, our holistic medical solutions are helping to revolutionise diagnostics and support physicians in providing quality and critical care.  Through using Fujifilm AI technology, for example, surgeons may now detect retained gauze or foreign objects in post-surgery X-ray images. 

These solutions and more were in the spotlight recently at the 18th Emirates Critical Care Conference at Intercontinental Festival City in Dubai.

fujifilm-medical-solutions.jpg

Spanning categories including Invitro Diagnostics, Point of Care Ultrasound, Radiology and Healthcare IT, our expanded portfolio of healthcare solutions was presented by product specialists directly, marking a departure from previous years – including the following below.

Invitro Diagnostics


Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Kit 

Fujifilm has introduced Covid 19 Ag test that utilises the proprietary Silver Amplification technology for high detection sensitivity and reliable clinical performance.

Toxinomter MT6500 

Invasive fungal infections prevalence is increasing day by day and the need for the reliable diagnostic test has become significant. (1,3)-β-d-glucan (BDG) is an integral part of most pathogenic fungi and Fujifilms’s Toxinometer MT6500 can quantitatively determine the (1,3)-β-d-glucan (BDG) in plasma or serum specimens rapidly and in early stages to save lives.

Fujifilm dry chemistry units

Fujifilm’s dry chemistry units are small instruments with advanced features and can analyse up to 31 parameters with options of 120 tests/hour or 190 tests/hour. Critical importance tests such as CRP can be rapidly tested and can play a vital role in the diagnosis in the critical care setup.

Other tests

Other important parameters such as Flu AB, RSV/Adeno Virus and Strep A antigen tests can be performed rapidly and accurately with our cutting-edge technology.

Point of Care Ultrasound


Sonosite PX

Our Sonosite PX incorporates our most advanced image clarity for confidence when treating and diagnosing patients. The interface combines touch and physical controls for improved efficiency, while the adaptable horizontal-to-vertical work surface allows for optimal bedside ergonomics. 

Sonosite’s most advanced image clarity to more accurately visualise sonographic landmarks, it can be operated with gloves and sterile drape.

Sonosite SII ultrasound machine 

Our Sonosite SII ultrasound machine empowers the user’s efficiency through an intuitive user interface that adapts to their procedural imaging needs. We designed Sonosite SII to maximise the productivity of their practice. 

The system can be used across multiple hospital environments, including a zero footprint option for space-constrained rooms.

Radiology


FDR Nano with AI

Our FDR Nano portable X-ray cart, sought after in critical care, comes equipped with a new image processing kit that connects with software such as AI-CAD for improved POC clinical support. The improvement in diagnostic capabilities and workflow is highly valued by physicians. 

FDX Visionary-C

Our mobile fluoroscopy system features a large C-arm depth for maximum accessibility in surgical applications. A perfect balanced C-arm orbital rotation allows for fast and precise positioning.

Healthcare IT


Synapse 3D

Our Synapse 3D advanced visualisation software enables advanced processing and analysis of medical imaging. Synapse 3D seamlessly performs state-of-the-art image analyses to aid with interpretation, reporting and treatment planning while facilitating exam sharing to support clinical collaboration. 

Our revolutionary solution was demonstrated live during the industry symposium at the Emirates Critical Conference. 

New healthcare solutions on the horizon

As the healthcare industry advances, we will continue to adapt as a technology company and find new ways to apply our scientific expertise to solve preeminent healthcare challenges – such as misdiagnoses because of human error. 

In the words of our CEO Teiichi Goto, “To address regional medical discrepancies, we believe that AI is key to a speedy and accurate diagnosis, and reducing the burden on healthcare specialists. I trust these innovations will lead to a better society.” 

Contact us

If you are interested in learning more about medical solutions from Fujifilm, please do not hesitate to visit our website to find out more about our innovative products: https://www.fujifilm.com/ae/en/healthcare