Latvia celebrates 50th heart transplant

The heart was transplanted to a man who is especially happy that he will be able to be an active father again and spend time with his child. Heart surgeons call this a success story of Latvian medicine. After a heart transplant, the quality of life of patients improves. The record so far is 19 years lived with a new heart. When Kaspars Bergholcs received word that there was a donor for his terminally ill heart, he admits that he was scared. But living with a diseased heart for 16 years was even scarier. Thus, Kaspars became the 50th person in Latvia to receive a donor heart transplant. "There was a call. And I was nervous. We talked, we talked it all out," Bergholz recalled. "I went to the doctors, I fought, there was a clot, they dissolved it. That's how I went down that path," he said, adding that he feels very good after the surgery. "With a team of doctors like this, you can't help but feel good," the patient added. The team has hardly changed since the first heart transplant in 2002. Uldis Strazdiņš, chief physician of the PSKUS Cardiac Surgery Center, also participated in the first transplant. It was his hands that held Kaspars' young heart. "I've participated in practically all of them. That sight when that little heart starts beating. I consider it a miracle! Still," said the chief physician. "It's a celebration! For us, doctors, patients, and it's a celebration for Latvia," said PSKUS cardiac surgeon Romans Lācis. "If we look at larger centres, 50 is a small number. But for us, it is a success story that we should be proud of. And it is a team. The team of the entire hospital!" emphasized Pēteris Stradiņš, head of the PSKUS Cardiac Surgery Center. "These patients are coming back to life! That's why transplantation exists, so that they can continue their lives! And in much better quality," said Baiba Barone, chief physician and cardiologist at the PSKUS Cardiac Surgery Center. Living well with a transplanted heart "I've welcomed my grandchildren! Seven!" - said Andrejs Līcis, an English teacher who has been living with a transplanted heart for 15 years. He described life before the operation with the word "existence". "I was only moved from Stradiņi to my home. And back. By ambulance. I was a frequent guest at Stradiņi, and immediately in intensive care. I prayed to God that I would have a donor heart," said Līcis. He will meet all his grandchildren this summer. Meanwhile, Kaspars' doctors plan to discharge him home this week and he will be able to be an active dad again. Five hearts were transplanted in Latvia last year. And that is also a Latvian record.