The Man with 2 Hearts: 25 Years from Heterotopic to Orthotopic Heart Transplantation.
We describe the case of a man with idiopathic nonischemic cardiomyopathy who, at age 17, was given an ABO- and size-matched heterotopic allograft that was a complete human leukocyte antigen mismatch. The graft functioned normally for 20 years until the patient had a myocardial infarction that necessitated placement of a coronary artery stent. Subsequent treatments involved many interventions, including insertion of an intra-aortic balloon pump, medical therapy for heart failure, implantation of a total artificial heart, and, ultimately, orthotopic transplantation. To our knowledge, our patient is the longest surviving recipient of a heterotopic heart transplant, with a remarkable 25-year graft survival despite poor histocompatibility and an almost complete lack of native heart function. The strategies used for his treatment make him a living case study that can add valuable information to the history of cardiac support.
PMID: 31708703 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Texas Heart Institute Journal - Category: Cardiology Authors: Godfrey EL, Kueht ML, Rana A, Frazier OH Tags: Tex Heart Inst J Source Type: research
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