GIRL, 13, RECEIVES NEW HEART
A TEAM of doctors and surgeons from the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) and Groote Schuur Hospital are beaming after a successful operation – the first heart transplant on a minor in 13 years.
The recipient, 13-year-old Parusia Muhigirwa, received her new lease on life in February this year and has since been recuperating at a comfortable pace at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
According to the hospital, she was suffering from heart failure before her surgery. She had been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a version of heart failure where the heart muscle becomes extremely weak, floppy, and big, mostly due to a viral infection attacking the heart muscle.
RCWMCH paediatric cardiologist Liesl Zühlke said there are many reasons why children of all ages developed end-stage heart failure. The most common reason was due to failure of the heart’s muscle, caused by cardiomyopathy, of which there are several types that to the heart muscle being unable to function.
Muhigirwa will have to attend a series of follow-up sessions that entail regular, monthly check-ups including blood tests, and an array of assessments to monitor her immuno-suppression.
RCWMCH acting chief executive Anita Parbhoo said: “We are excited to be able to reinvigorate our heart transplantation service and believe that many more young patients like Parusia, and their families, can benefit from it. Muhigirwa aspires to be a doctor; I believe she was inspired by her own surgery and wishes to do the same for other young people.”