Single-center experience of pediatric heart transplantation in taiwan.
Heart transplantation (HTx) is a treatment for end-stage heart failure or a complex or inoperable congenital defect. The long-term survival and the adequate donor to recipient body weight (D/R BW) ratio remain to be determined. From March 1995 to May 2004, 14 children (6 months-16 years of age) underwent HTx due to underlying diseases of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 10; 71.4%), congenital heart disease (n = 3; 21.4%), and Kawasaki disease (n = 1; 7.1%). Donor-recipient body weight ratio ranged from 0.89 to 3.9. Big heart syndrome was present in one patient when D/R BW ratio was more than 3. Actuarial survival was 92.9% at 5 years after transplantation. Only the one patient who had Kawasaki disease died due to early primary graft failure. HTx is a feasible method with good long-term survival rates for end-stage heart failure or for complex or inoperable congenital defects. After careful pretransplant evaluation, a high D/R BW ratio (more than 3) is acceptable.
Chou
N K
NK
Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chang
C H
CH
Chi
N H
NH
Chang
C I
CI
Chen
Y S
YS
Wu
E T
ET
Wu
M H
MH
Wang
J K
JK
Hsu
R B
RB
Huang
S C
SC
Ko
W J
WJ
Chu
S H
SH
Lin
F Y
FY
Wang
S S
SS
D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000601:surgery; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000502:physiology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan