A six-month-old infant underwent a successful heart transplant at the UKC Ljubljana medical centre in October in what has been lauded as an exceptional achievement of Slovenian medicine. His parents say the baby has recovered well.

The centre's Paediatric Clinic admitted the child in September after an ultrasound and x-ray showed a significantly enlarged heart, head of cardiology at the clinic, Gorazd Mlakar told reporters on 21 February.

The doctors diagnosed the baby with dilated cardiomyopathy, a rare genetic heart disease that affects between one and two in 10,000 infants. The disease causes the heart ventricles to enlarge and prevents the heart from pumping blood efficiently.

When the baby first came to the hospital, the left side of his heart was the size of an adult's, Mlakar said, adding that the baby was immediately placed in intensive care and on the transplant list.

His condition worsened after a month to the point that his heart failed and he had to be placed on bypass.

Bittersweet luck

"Luckily he only needed the mechanic support for two days before we got a new heart," Mlakar said, adding that the luck was bittersweet as it meant that someone else lost a child.

Head surgeon of the cardiovascular surgery department Juš Kšela, who performed the transplant, said that the procedure was a standard transplant.

Before the surgery the explantation team had to travel abroad to obtain the heart, store it and prepare it for transport. At the same time the patient was being prepared for the surgery.

"The transplant went routinely but with the understanding of the entire team that with such small structures and a child this sick, this is the only option for a long-term recovery and a normal life. That meant the pressure was somewhat bigger," Kšela said.

Valentino now a happy baby

"Valentino is now a ten-month-old baby that nobody could have noticed has undergone such an operation. He is crawling, almost walking, smiling all the time," his mother said, adding that he takes medication well. She said Slovenia has excellent doctors and as parents they always had all the necessary support and information.

Marko Pokorn, medical director of the Paediatric Clinic, thanked the donor's parents "for their noble gesture, which has given our patient a new start". He also thanked the team at UKC Ljubljana for their empathetic and dedicated work.

Head of the hospital's transplant centre Ivan Kneževič said that the surgery was a new milestone in transplant activities of UKC Ljubljana. This was the hospital's second heart transplant in a child aged under one year, he said, adding that such transplants are rare. In Europe there are up to five such transplants a year.

Transplants can show how well different experts from different fields can work together as a team, Kneževič said. "UKC Ljubljana is capable of repeating a similar challenge at any moment of any day and set new milestones," he said.

More than 50 experts were involved in the process, said UKC Ljubljana director general Marko Jug, stressing that they are excellent doctors and excellent people.