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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
A Modified Method for Heterotopic Mouse Heart Transplantion
Published on: June 23, 2014
Results of heart transplantation: 16 years' experience in a center in Argentina
R Favaloro1, M Peradejordi, A Bertolotti
1Hospital Universitario Fundacion Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. rfavoloro@ffavaloro.org
Insights
Heart transplantation (HTx) offers significant long-term survival, with 15-year survival rates reaching 65%. Outcomes are comparable to international standards, highlighting HTx as a viable treatment for advanced heart failure.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Transplantation Medicine
- Surgical Outcomes
Background:
- Heart transplantation (HTx) is the primary treatment for end-stage heart failure unresponsive to other therapies.
- Evaluating long-term outcomes is crucial for understanding the efficacy of HTx.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the outcomes of orthotopic heart transplantation over 16 years of clinical experience.
- To analyze survival rates and identify factors influencing mortality post-HTx.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 309 HTx recipients from 1993 to 2009.
- Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was employed to study patient survival.
- Data included recipient demographics, procedure type (elective vs. urgent), and causes of death.
Main Results:
- Overall survival rates at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 80%, 74%, 71%, and 65%, respectively.
- Conditional survival rates at 5 and 10 years (excluding first-year mortality) were 92% and 88.5%.
- Major causes of death included sepsis (28%) and primary graft non-function (18%); in-hospital mortality was 16%.
Conclusions:
- Post-HTx survival rates at our center align with ISHLT registry data.
- Long-term follow-up revealed significant incidences of kidney failure (21%), diabetes (24%), hypertension (69%), and dyslipidemia (70%).
- Orthotopic heart transplantation demonstrates sustained efficacy in managing advanced heart failure.
Unlabelled:
Heart transplantation (HTx) is the treatment of choice for advanced heart failure refractory to other treatments.
Objective:
To report the outcomes of patients undergoing orthotopic HTx in a center with 16 years' experience.
Methods:
We retrospectively examined the outcomes from three hundred nine HTx recipients between February 1993 and March 2009. The mean recipient age was 46 +/- 16 years, and 80% were male. Ischemic cardiomyopathy was present in 37%; 43% (n = 133) were elective procedures and 57% (n = 176) were urgent/emergency procedures. The mean donor age was 26 years; their main cause of death was head/brain trauma. Survival was studied using Kaplan-Meier curves.
Results:
The global survival rates at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 80%, 74%, 71%, and 65%, respectively. Excluding losses during the first year after transplantation (conditional survival), the survival rate at 5 and 10 years reached 92% and 88.5%, respectively. The median follow-up was 7.7 years. The etiology and the urgent/emergency nature of the procedures did not show significant differences regarding the mortality rate (P = .8). The main causes of death were sepsis (28%) and primary nonfunction (18%). In-hospital mortality reached 16%. No significant differences were observed between the urgent/emergency versus the elective transplant procedures (P = .06). During the follow-up, the incidence of severe acute cellular rejection episodes was <3% after 5 years. The global incidence of antibody-mediated rejection reached 4.5%. Eleven subjects (3.5%) were diagnosed with post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder. During long-term follow-up, the incidences of kidney failure, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipemia were 21%, 24%, 69%, and 70%, respectively. One percent required chronic dialysis.
Conclusion:
In our center, post-HTx survival rates at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 80%, 74%, 71%, and 65%, respectively, which were similar to those reported by the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).
