[Heart transplantation; restarted in Japan].
The first heart transplantation after organ transplantation law was successfully carried out in February, 1999 in Japan. The case was a male patient with dilated phase of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and had been supported by implantable left ventricular assist device for 4 months. The procurement of the heart was done at distant place and transportation required about 2 hours by helicopter. The operation was done uneventfully using Lower-Shumway method and the patient was discharged 75 days later and has returned to the previous work at 1 year follow-up.
Matsuda
H
H
First Department of Surgery, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, Japan.
D000328:Adult; D001926:Brain Death; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000639:trends; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors