According to cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Viljee Jonker who led the transplantation team, Emlynn is one of only a few paediatric patients in the past decade to have had a heart transplant in South Africa, and is the first to undergo the procedure at the recently launched Maboneng Heart Institute, a children’s transplantation programme that has been established at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital’s Paediatric Cardiac Centre.

Emlynn’s mother, Penelope Singh, says that her daughter had to wait a year for a matching donor heart to become available and for the operation to take place. “We had become desperately concerned about Emlynn’s wellbeing and constantly feared that her heart would fail during that time,” Penelope says. “She was completely lacking in energy and could hardly get around without feeling drained and exhausted.

“The difference after Emlynn’s heart transplant is incredible - she is her old chatty, energetic self and is able to see a future for herself once more. She says she wants to climb Table Mountain, do pottery, learn to cook and pursue her longstanding interest in astronomy. We as a family are thankful and thrilled that she can come home, and be with us in time for the holidays,” adds Penelope.

“We are delighted with the wonderful progress Emlynn has made and feel privileged to have been able to successfully undertake this historic procedure,” says Dr Jonker. “Emlynn quickly recovered after the transplant and was able to come off the ventilator and sit up the day after the operation was performed. Her health has gone from strength to strength and we have consequently been able to discharge her home.”

Dr Jonker says that the Paediatric Cardiac Centre at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital is the largest facility in Africa undertaking open heart surgery and repairs. Some 700 children from South Africa and around the African continent are treated at the centre annually.

Dr Jonker says that successful paediatric cardiac transplantation is only made possible with an experienced multi-disciplinary team, from the heart transplant coordinators, who facilitate and coordinate the acquisition of a matching donor heart, to the surgical team and its support staff including the nursing staff.

Emlynn’s transplant team consisted of some of South Africa’s foremost heart experts including Dr Susan Vosloo, a cardiothoracic surgeon who practises at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town; Professor Robin Kinsley, a cardiothoracic surgeon who heads up the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital’s Paediatric Cardiac Centre; Dr Jonker and cardiologist, Dr Janine Meares who practises at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital; and the assistance of Dr Mignon McCulloch, a paediatric Intensivist from Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

Pieter Louw, general manager of Netcare Sunninghill Hospital, congratulates the transplantation team on successfully completing the procedure, and wishes Emlynn and her family all the best for the future. “This heart-warming case demonstrates what can be achieved by a team of dedicated paediatric cardiac experts working together as a well-oiled unit.”

“The establishment of the Moboneng Heart Institute is an important development for heart medicine in South Africa and offers hope to the children of the continent who have no other viable hope for survival than a heart transplant or mechanical heart implantation,” says Louw.

For more information, visit www.mabonengheart.com.