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Heart Transplant Center - Fargo, ND

Fargo Cardiothoracic Surgeon Doctors for Heart Transplant

Type of Physician: Cardiothoracic Surgeon

What is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon?

A certification by the Board of Thoracic Surgery; practitioners are skilled in patient care before, during and after surgery, and the critical care of patients with pathologic conditions within the chest. The management of the airway and injuries of the chest is within the scope of the specialty.

Specialty: Cardiothoracic Surgery

Common Name: Chest Surgeon

Cardiothoracic Surgeon Doctors in Fargo *

MeritCare Heart Services
Ajit Damle
610 Hackberry Dr South
Fargo, ND 58104
(701) 234-2254

MeritCare Heart Services
Roxanne V Newman
610 Hackberry Dr South
Fargo, ND 58104
(701) 234-2254

Dakota Clinic at Innovis & Innovis Health
Barry A Bjorgaard
3000 32nd Ave S
Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 364-3300

Dakota Clinic at Innovis & Innovis Health
Jeffrey I Knutson
3000 32nd Ave S
Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 364-3300

Dakota Clinic at Innovis & Innovis Health
Nader B Tadros
3000 32nd Ave S
Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 364-3300

Fargo, North Dakota

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Heart Transplant

Introduction to heart transplant

The idea of replacing a bad organ with a good one has been documented in ancient mythology. The first real organ transplants were probably skin grafts that may have been done in India as early as the second century B.C. The first heart transplant in any animal is credited to Vladimer Demikhov. Working in Moscow in 1946, Demikhov switched the hearts between two dogs. The dogs survived the surgery. The first heart transplant in human beings was done in South Africa in 1967 by Dr. Christiaan Barnard; the patient only lived 18 days. Most of the research that led to successful heart transplantation took place in the United States at Stanford University under the leadership of Dr. Norman Shumway. Once Stanford started reporting better results, other centers started doing heart transplants. However, successful transplantation of a human heart was not ready for widespread clinical application until medications were developed to prevent the recipient from "rejecting" the donor heart. This happened in 1983 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a drug called cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral). Before the advent of cyclosporine, overall results of heart transplant were not very good.

What is a heart transplant?

Believe it or not, heart transplantation is a relatively simple operation for a cardiac surgeon. In fact, the procedure actually consists of three operations.

The first operation is harvesting the heart from the donor. The donor is usually an unfortunate person who has suffered irreversible brain injury, called "brain death". Very often these are patients who have had major trauma to the head, for example, in an automobile accident. The victim's organs, other than the brain, are working well with the help of medications and other "life support" that may include a respirator or other devices...

Recommended Reading Related to Heart Transplant

Shock (Medical) »

Shock facts

  • Shock is a life-threatening medical condition and is a medical emergency. If shock is suspected call 911 or get to an emergency department immediately.
  • The main symptom of shock is low blood pressure. Other symptoms include rapid, shallow breathing; cold, clammy skin; rapid, weak pulse; dizziness, fainting, or weakness.
  • There are several types of shock: septic shock caused by bacteria, anaphylactic shock caused by hypersensitivity or allergic reaction, cardiogenic shock from heart damage, hypovolemic shock from blood or fluid loss, and neurogenic shock from spinal cord trauma.
  • Treatment for shock depends on the cause. Tests will determine the cause and severity. Usually IV fluids are administered in addition to medications that raise blood pressure.
    • Septic shock is treated with antibiotics and fluids.
    • Anaphylactic shock is treated with diphenhydramine (Benad...

Emergency Contact for Fargo

  • In case of Emergency, call 911

Nearby Fargo Hospitals *

Meritcare Hospital
720 4th St N
Fargo, ND 58122
(701)234-2000

Prairie St John's
510 4th St S
Fargo, ND 58103
(701)476-7200

MeritCare South University
1720 S University Dr
Fargo, ND 58103
(701)234-2000

SCCI Hospital Fargo
1720 S University Dr
Fargo, ND 58103
(701)241-9099

Fargo VA Medical Center
2101 N Elm St
Fargo, ND 58102
(701)232-3241

Dakota Clinic Innovis Health
3000 32nd Ave S
Fargo, ND 58103
(701)364-8000

Bridges Medical Center
201 9th St W
Ada, MN 56510
(218)784-5000

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