- Emergency
- Coronary heart disease.
- Valvular heart disease.
- Diseases of the thoracic vessels.
- Arrhythmias.
- Transplantation.
- Heart transplant
- Indications.
- Organ donation.
- Guidelines for organ mediation.
- Inclusion on the waiting list.
- Examinations before inclusion on the waiting list.
- Regular check-ups prior to transplantation.
- The heart transplant call.
- The transplantation.
- The first days after the transplant.
- Postoperative immunosuppression.
- Other medications.
- Medication times.
- Postoperative complications and rejection reactions.
- Complications due to infections.
- Check-ups.
- How do I do things correctly.
- Lung transplantation.
- Combined transplantation.
- Heart transplant
The transplantation
The basic surgical transplantation technique was developed over 30 years ago. First, the operation field is cleaned with disinfectant solutions and the patient is then covered with sterile drapes, apart from the operation field and the head (where the anaesthetist will be working). The skin incision is made over the breastbone and is usually ca. 8 cm in length, depending on the patient’s height.
Removal of the old heart and implantation of the new heart should be performed very fast in order to keep the ischaemia time (the time in which it is not supplied with oxygenated blood) as short as possible. Nevertheless it is essential to work extremely carefully so that all the sutures are bloodtight and the new heart can work without any hindrance.
At the end of the implantation the circulation of the (new) heart is released again. The heart muscle tissue is supplied with oxygen again when the coronary arteries are filled with oxygenated blood. As a result, the heart usually starts to contract again spontaneously. When the new heart is functioning, the patient can be weaned from the heart-lung machine. The chest is then closed again in layers. When the operation is finished, the recipient is transferred to the intensive care unit.