Roman’s New Heart and Lungs

A year and a half after undergoing transplantation of a kidney (donated by his mother) at Schneider Children’s, 6-year-old Roman Kormalov underwent a heart and lung transplant. Roman had suffered from debilitating, complex and prolonged lung disease and needed the assistance of an oxygen pump to breathe. He was limited to his home as a result until the news came of the organ donation.

The heart and lung transplant was conducted by Dr. George Frenkel, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit at Schneider, Prof. Dan Arvut, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Beilinson and Schneider Hospitals, Dr. Milton Saute, Director of Lung Surgery in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Division at Beilinson and Schneider Hospitals, and Dr. Yaacov Katz, Director of Anesthesia at Schneider and anesthetist Dr. Igor Tzunzer. He was hospitalized in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit headed by Prof. Ovdi Dagan with follow-up care by a team in the Cardiology Institute headed by Dr. Einat Birk.

Schneider Children’s Medical Center conducts the majority of organ transplants in children in Israel and is one of the few hospitals in the world capable of performing a number of organ transplantation surgeries at the same time. Since its inception, Schneider Children’s has conducted about 500 heart, lung, liver and kidney transplants in infants, children and adolescents, with success rates on a par with leading institutions in the world.