Care Hospitals here successfully performed a heart transplant surgery on a 28-year-old male Mohammed Rafi at Visakhapatnam on December 4 after he had severe heart failure. This is the first heart transplant in a two-tier city outside Hyderabad, as the surgery was done at Vishakapatnam and later the 28-year-old patient on whom the heart transplant was performed, was shifted back to Care Hospitals here and is now ready for discharge. Addressing reporters here today, Care Hospitals Chairman and Managing Director B Somaraju and cardiologist Rajeev V Menon said that the heart was taken from a 28-year-old brain-dead accident victim Naga Babu and was transplanted to Mohammed Rafi on December 4 by a team of cardiologists. So far 118 patients have received donor hearts across the country in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi and Chennai. Visakhapatnam has now joined the list. PTI
