First State Central Hospital to operate on human heart for the first time

The First State Central Hospital has completed preparations to perform its first heart transplantation, valve replacement surgery, surgical closure of an atrial septal defect, and coronary artery bypass surgery from June 21 to 25.

These procedures were available only at the Third State Central Hospital in Mongolia before, according to surgeons.

Three to five surgeons will perform the surgical procedures with assistance from a team of seven cardiac experts, including a cardiothoracic surgeon, an anesthesiologist and a perfusionist, from the University of Utah in the USA. The US team reportedly performs 25 heart transplantation a year on average.

The hospital completed the following preparations for the said cardiac surgeries. » Opened a laboratory for experimental surgeries on May 10, 2017 » Conducted an experimental heart transplant on a pig on May 15, 2017

» Participated in the International Congress of Organ Transplantation on July 11, 2017 » Drafted Project to Develop Open-Heart Surgery » Established a cooperation agreement with the University of Utah » Received a heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass pump) from the University of Utah » Established a memorandum with the University of Utah » Invited a team of cardiac experts from the University of Utah to oversee cardiac surgeries and hold workshops

A 2016 study by the Health Development Center indicates that a total of 5,390 people (3,210 men and 2,270 women) had died due to heart disease in Mongolia at the time.

According to the latest WHO data published in 2017, coronary heart disease caused 4,175 deaths in Mongolia, accounting for 22.31 percent of total deaths in the country. The age adjusted death rate is 243.21 per 100,000 of population, ranking Mongolia 14th in the world.