From September 27 to 29, Shumakov National Medical Research Centre of Transplantology and Artificial Organs hosted the 5th Russian National Congress with international participation – Organ Transplantation and Donation.
The event brought together transplant surgeons, cardiac surgeons, thoracic and general surgeons, cardiologists, nephrologists as well as transplant coordinators. The Congress was attended by chief transplantologist of St. Petersburg, Head of the Research Laboratory of Thoracic Surgery at Almazov Centre, German Nikolaev and cardiologist/transplantologist, researcher at the Cardiopulmonary Testing Research Laboratory Maria Simonenko.
Dr. Nikolaev gave a presentation “The first experience of simultaneous heart transplantation and coronary artery bypass grafting: case of Almazov Centre” (as part of the conference Clinical Transplantology: Heart and Lung Transplantation).
During the symposium Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Maria Simonenko gave a presentation “Treatment of COVID-19 patients after heart transplantation: the experience of Almazov Centre”. She spoke about the experience in the management of heart recipients with COVID-19, the importance of continuity between outpatient and inpatient care teams, doctors of various specialties as well as the need and effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with heart failure and after heart transplantation.
The event covered various issues of transplantology: the influence of the intraoperative stage on the further prognosis of recipients, recipient management tactics in early and long-term follow-up, the prospects for transplantology (mechanical circulatory support, biomarkers for rejection crises, etc.). Special attention was paid to the impact of the pandemic on the number of solid organ transplants, specifics of the transplant service and health risk factors for immunocompromised patients. Transplant doctors from different cities of Russia shared their schemes for managing transplanted patients in case of COVID-19 and the consequences of COVID-19 for the function of transplants.