After a motorcycle accident, Zdravko Dimov's heart was displaced to the right as a result of severe high-energy chest trauma. But a team from Pirogov University Hospital in Sofia came to the patient's aid and managed to save his life through a complex surgical intervention, performed for the first time in Bulgaria. In 99% of cases with this trauma, the outcome for patients is lethal. Only 58 such cases have been described worldwide, the Dimov’s case is one of them.
Today, 2 years later, the man is safe and sound and the N. I. Pirogov Multi-profile Active Treatment & Emergency University Hospital team was awarded for Best Presentation at the Congress of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care held in Burgas just a few days ago.
The story with a happy ending
On October 15, 2020, Zdravko Dimov gets into a violent traffic accident. When the 28-year-old military pilot is rushed to the country's largest emergency care center, ER doctors are surprised to find that they are faced with a medical precedent. A chest X-ray and scanner examination revealed that Zdravko's heart had broken off and rotated 90 degrees in the crash. His aorta and pulmonary artery had also rotated to the right.
"The displacement was so severe that we initially thought it was a congenital condition, even though a person with such a birth defect cannot get into aviation. Patients with such injuries usually die at the crash site. However, this boy is a fighter pilot and is in very good condition," explained Assoc. Prof. Rumen Filipov, who performed the unique intervention, together with his colleague Dr. Plamen Parvanov.
The risks of having this type of surgery are that the heart may stop, fill with blood and cardiac death could occur, doctors say. Despite its complexity, the surgery did not last long. The Pirogov University Hospital surgeons repositioned Zdravko's heart and repaired the ruptured pericardium - the sac that surrounds the heart. The man woke up 40 days after the operation, happy to have survived. Today, he leads a full life, exercises regularly and is hoping that one day he will get back on his plane.
Photos: pirogov.eu, cardiacinstitute.bg
Bringing youthful energy, colour and cheer to the Bulgarian National Radio studio, students from the Bulgarian Sunday School Dr Petar Beron arrived from Larnaca. The group from Cyprus — 16 pupils aged between 14 and 19 — is currently on a week-long..
At the outset of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Bessarabian Bulgarians across all lands marked their national day with prayers for peace. Nearly four years on, burdened with even greater sorrow, they commemorate that special day scattered..
Switzerland is one of the smaller Central European countries on the Old Continent. It consists of twenty-six cantons with a population of about 9 million people, according to the latest Eurostat data from 2024. 41% of those residing in the country are..
On 27 October, the first meeting of Action CA-24150 “Values in Turbulent Times: Navigating Social Change and Challenges (VISTA)” took place in Brussels...
In the summer of 2014, photographer Philippe Bazin and philosopher Christiane Vollaire traveled around Bulgaria, investigating a series..
The European Commission praise s Montenegro’s progress toward EU membership North Macedonia needs decisive action and reforms to begin..
Mostly Cloudy
Rain
Overcast, rain
Cloudy
Cloudy