[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.