title: Heart transplantation in children and young adults: early and intermediate-term results.
abstract: The purpose of this article is to report our short- and intermediate-term follow-up of cardiac transplantation for congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy in children (age greater than 6 months), adolescents, and young adults. Thirty patients (ages 8 months to 24 years) with end-stage heart failure have undergone cardiac transplantation in our program: 12 (40%) for postoperative end-stage heart failure, 9 (30%) as primary treatment for congenital heart disease, 5 (17%) for dilated cardiomyopathy, and 4 (13%) for restrictive/hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Nineteen patients (63%) had undergone prior operations; 4 patients received transplants for failed Fontan procedures. Induction therapy with antithymocyte therapy was used routinely, and long-term immunosuppression was by cyclosporine and azathioprine alone. Rejection surveillance/diagnosis was based on echocardiographic criteria. Posttransplantation follow-up ranges from 3 to 78 months. Operative mortality was 3.3% (1/30). No patients have been diagnosed with either accelerated allograft atherosclerosis or posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease. We conclude that cardiac transplantation may be performed with excellent early and intermediate-term results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Colorado, Denver.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fullerton
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaggers
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Wollmering
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mashburn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luna
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Sondheimer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000601:surgery*; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000601:surgery*; D002313:Cardiomyopathy, Restrictive / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000601:surgery; D012086:Reoperation