Sklif (Ep25) A tough choice: an artificial heart ventricle or a complete organ transplant?

Sergey used to be called “The Water Man” because of his dedication to his job as a plumber. However, overwork may have led to his heart attack. Now his heart is too weak to cope on its own. It either needs to be fitted with an artificial ventricle or replaced all together. If he opts for an electronic ticker, he’ll need to charge its batteries regularly. On the other hand, no one knows when a donor organ will become available, and Sergey may run out of time.

Whichever option is chosen, Dr Anzor Khubutia will make sure the surgery goes as smoothly as possible. An experienced cardiac surgeon and head of Sklif, Russia’s most famous hospital, he will provide Sergey with the best treatment available. It’s a life or death situation for Sergey, but the doctors are optimistic. They tend to look on the bright side of life, and even during surgery anaesthetists crack jokes about their profession.

Sklif, a new series on RTD, provides an exclusive look inside the famous Sklifosovsky Institute. It's known to every Muscovite, and many Russians too. With the best equipment and medical specialists in the country, it represents the pinnacle of emergency medicine. The hospital's Emergency Intensive Care Unit is the clinic's busiest unit, with doctors and nurses tending to those whose lives are hanging by a thread. Watch the film in Russian.



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