Born together, operated together. Fabio and Luca, 35-year-old twins from the province of Venice, champions of powerchair hokey, were implanted with a defibrillator at the ‘Carlo Poma’ hospital in Mantua against the risk of sudden death from cardiac arrest, associated with the muscular dystrophy they suffer from. After a period of rehabilitation “we will soon return to our team” in Padua, the two brothers assure.
“I play in the role of goalkeeper, Luca is a defender – says Fabio who in 2016 won a silver medal at the European championships and in 2018 a gold medal at the world championships – This Paralympic sport is practiced in a wheelchair and was born above all for people with neuromuscular diseases, but it is adaptable to all disabilities. With the Padua team we have collected a Scudetto, two Italian Cups and a Super Cup. We are strong. In September we are back on the pitch “, they promise.
“The family turned to us because in this area the Poma is today a point of reference for the most complex and delicate cases, for the most fragile patients”, explains the director of thoracic surgery of the hospital, Andrea Droghetti, who in in recent years he has developed ultra-specialized minimally invasive surgical treatments for heart failure and the prevention of sudden death in Mantua. The specialist has devised a new implant technique, modifying it in a decisive way compared to its original version and reducing its invasiveness, underline from Asst Mantua. It is a procedure of subcutaneous defibrillator implantation that is going around the world – a note reads – thanks to the doctor’s commitment in drafting scientific articles and training colleagues from other centers.
Every year – recalls the territorial social health company of Mantua – about 50 thousand people in Italy and over 350 thousand in Europe are affected by sudden cardiac arrest: a malignant arrhythmia that can have a lethal outcome if you do not intervene promptly. This pathology also affects young people, often during sports activities. Technological evolution has led to the availability of subcutaneous defibrillators that can be implanted in the chest wall, with the great advantage of not entering the heart, while controlling it perfectly from a distance, in a less invasive but equally safe way. During the operation, the patient is awake, no longer needing general anesthesia, on a day hospital or outpatient basis.
Cardiologist Patrizia Pepi, head of Poma electrophysiology, participated in the intervention on Fabio and Luca with Droghetti. The two patients thank the doctors: “We have found great professionalism, availability and kindness throughout the process – they highlight – We are fine, we are improving day by day. Now we will spend a week in a clinic in Trento that treats neuromuscular diseases”.
A period of physiotherapy and rest, then the return home. Always together, Fabio remarks speaking also on behalf of his brother. As good twins they define themselves as one in everything: “Same sport, but also same studies, as computer experts. Now we deal with advertising graphics. We are close-knit, we keep company”. Even in the hospital.
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