From January 1990 to May 1995,92 patients with complex cardiac problems and supraventricular arrhythmias were operated upon with the technique of heart autotransplantation. The arrhythmias were: atrial fibrillation (n=89); reentry (n=2); long QT syndrome (n=1). Females predominated (n=63). The age varied from 18 to 76 years (m=43). Concomittant defects were: giant left atrium (> 6 cm measured by echo) (n=65); giant right atrium (n=9); large left atrium (< 6 cm./>4 cm) (n=23); mitral stenosis (n=46); mitral insufficiency (n=28); mitral double lesion (n=16); aortic stenosis (n=12); aortic insufficiency (n=5); tricuspid insufficiency (n=75); atrial thrombosis (n=23); atrial calcification (n=12); pulmonnary hypertension (n=86); biventricular fibroelastose (n=3); atrioventricular rupture (n=1); aortic root aneurysm (n=1); partial ventriculectomy (n=8); 88 patients left the operating room and remained in sinus rhythm; 6 required inotropic drugs and 3 antiarrhythmic drugs. All patients with giant atria and atrial fibrillation had their atria reduced to normal sizes. There were no OR mortality and 6 patients died during hospitalization. Six months later the survivors were clinically well, in sinus rhythm. The technique of heart autotransplantation facilitates intracardiac reppairs, provides atrial reduction and returns patients with atrial fibrillation into sinus rhythm, and opens new frontiers.
Heart autotransplantation; Heart transplantation; Heart transplantation