The Paper Reported A Heart Transplant Patient of Shanghai General Hospital: Shanghai's Second ‘Heart Transplant’ Patient Has Survived for 21 years, with A 5-year-old Child

On the morning of April 8, Tang Yi came to Shanghai General Hospital for a follow-up check and took the photo with heart surgeons Xiao Yimin (first on the right) and Yang Dicheng (left one). Photographed by Hu Yang

    'When I was 17 years old, I had a heart transplant. Now I'm 38 years old.' Tang Yi said. He is the second heart transplant patient and also the longest survivor in Shanghai .  

    On April 8, Tang Yi came to the outpatient clinic of cardiac surgery in Shanghai General Hospital for a follow-up check. This time, he came for an adjustment of the concentration of post-operative anti-rejection drugs. In the 21 years since the operation, he is in good health. Now, he is living and working in Shanghai with a 5-year-old child.

    In April 2000, Tang Yi became the first heart transplant patient in Shanghai General Hospital, and also the longest survivor in Shanghai. File picture

    'This is the first case of heart transplant in the hospital and the second case in Shanghai, when similar surgeries were already reported abroad. The heart transplant was developed in China in the 1990s, and there were not many cases at that time.'Yang Dicheng, deputy director of cardiac surgery of Shanghai General Hospital, told reporter. On the morning of April 7, 2000, the heart transplant was performed by Professor Xiao Mingdi, then director of cardiovascular surgery of Shanghai General Hospital with the participation of multidisciplinary experts in surgery, anesthesiology and cardiology.

  According to Xiao Yimin, director of cardiac surgery of Shanghai General Hospital, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the most common and serious inherited heart diseases, which is caused by cardiac hypertrophy. 'If not treated in time, patients are likely to have heart failure in their 20s. Even if the myocardium can be thinned by surgery, it won't completely cure the disease, and the only solution is heart transplant.'

    According to public data, the 1-year survival rate after heart transplantation is about 90%, the 3-year survival rate is about 80%, and the 5-year survival rate is about 70%. The average survival time after operation is 13 years. The longest survival time reported in the world is 30 years.

     Reporter：Yang Sisi