Related Experiment Videos
Heart transplantation in an 8-month-old girl. 10th anniversary report
O H Frazier1, O U Okereke, B Radovancĕvić
1Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Texas Heart Institute, Houston 77225-0345, USA.
Insights
Pediatric cardiac transplantation in infants is a viable option for end-stage heart disease. A 1984 infant transplant recipient thrived for 10 years, showing normal growth and development with no adverse effects from immunosuppression.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pediatric Surgery
- Immunology
Background:
- Limited prior experience with infant cardiac transplantation in 1984.
- Concerns regarding long-term outcomes and effects of immunosuppression in pediatric recipients.
- End-stage cardiac disease secondary to endocardial fibroelastosis as a primary indication.
Observation:
- A single infant recipient of a cardiac allograft in 1984.
- Ten-year follow-up assessment of the patient's health, growth, and development.
- Monitoring for adverse effects of long-term immunosuppressive therapy.
Findings:
- The patient, now a healthy 4th grader, experienced normal somatic growth and development.
- The transplanted heart enlarged appropriately with the patient's body size.
- No adverse effects were observed from long-term immunosuppression over the decade.
Implications:
- Demonstrates the feasibility and positive long-term outcomes of infant cardiac transplantation.
- Provides evidence supporting the procedure's efficacy in selected pediatric patients with end-stage heart disease.
- Suggests that successful infant cardiac transplantation can lead to a remarkably normal life.
Abstract:
In 1984, Dr. Denton A. Cooley led a surgical team that implanted a cardiac allograft in an 8-month-old girl who had end-stage cardiac disease secondary to endocardial fibroelastosis. At that time, experience with cardiac transplantation in infants was limited, and the long-term effects of the procedure were cause for concern. Ten years later, our patient is a healthy 4th-grade student who enjoys a remarkably normal life. She has grown and developed quite satisfactorily, and her heart has enlarged in proportion to her overall somatic growth. Long-term immunosuppression has produced no adverse effects, and the child's medical problems have differed little from those of her peers. This landmark case has yielded preliminary answers to a number of important questions about cardiac transplantation in infants and has confirmed our original opinion that the procedure is well warranted in selected patients.