Cardiac transplantation: a review.

Cardiac transplantation is currently a highly successful treatment for selected patients with end-stage cardiac failure. The long-term results are limited by the development of coronary artery vasculopathy, infection and malignancy. The activity of transplantation programmes worldwide is severely limited by the availability of donor organs.

An unusual opportunity to reduce operative risk by combining cardiac and pulmonary procedures.

A case is presented of a successful triple combined procedure consisting of coronary artery bypass grafting, mitral valve replacement and pulmonary resection. Previous studies have shown the increased risk of surgery for coronary occlusive disease when combined with mitral valve replacement or when undertaken in the presence of obstructive lung disease. We believe this to be the first report describing the reduction of operative risk as a result of combining pulmonary resection with mitral valvular and coronary artery surgery.

Leg ischaemia following bilateral internal thoracic artery and inferior epigastric artery harvesting.

There is increasing evidence that the use of arterial conduits for coronary artery bypass grafting provides superior long-term results when compared to using saphenous veins alone. Major complications of using internal thoracic arteries (ITAs) and inferior epigastric arteries (IEAs) are uncommon. We report the case of a 42-year-old man who underwent coronary revascularisation in which harvesting of these arteries resulted in critical ischaemia of the lower limbs requiring aortobifemoral grafting.

Maze 3 for atrial fibrillation: two cuts too few?

The Maze procedure has been developed as a surgical approach to the management of patients with atrial fibrillation refractory to medical treatment. The recent modification of the technique (Maze 3) achieves good rate control with coordinated AV contractions. However, the procedure involves cuts that completely isolate a block of left atrial (LA) wall, including the four ostia of the pulmonary veins.

Heart-lung transplantation in situs inversus and chest wall deformity.

Heart-lung transplantation in the presence of complex congenital heart disease including situs inversus and significant chest wall deformity can be accomplished successfully. However, the postoperative course is apt to be prolonged because of mechanical respiratory problems, which will respond to a protocol of weaning and nutritional supplementation.

Airway stenoses after lung transplantation: management with expanding metal stents.

Success in lung transplantation has been hindered by airway complications, usually as a result of anastomotic ischemia and stenosis. We report our experience with expanding metal stents in managing airway stenoses after lung transplantation. From April 1984 through November 1993, 46 single lung, 5 double lung, and 154 heart-lung transplantations were performed at Papworth Hospital.

Domino heart transplantation: the Papworth experience.

The use of donor hearts from heart-lung recipients, the so-called domino procedure, began at Papworth Hospital in November 1988. Between then and September 1992, 198 heart transplantations and 86 heart-lung transplantations were performed. Fifty-three heart-lung recipients donated their hearts for use in the domino procedure.

Risk factors for survival following combined heart-lung transplantation. The first 100 patients.

As the numbers of heart and lung transplant recipients have increased it has become possible to identify major risk factors for early (within 3 months) and later (after 3 months) death after this procedure. For 100 patients receiving organs between April 1984 and February 1991, and followed up until February 1992, patient characteristics, operative details, and early morbidity were assessed for their effects on early and later deaths. Recipient age, sex, and preoperative diagnosis did not have a significant effect on early (within 3 months) or later death.

Using "unsuitable" hearts for transplantation.

Donor availability is the single most limiting factor in heart transplantation. From a consecutive series of 100 heart donors, there were 21 which fell well outside our minimum criteria on initial inspection: mean arterial pressure (MAP) more than 60 mm Hg, central venous pressure (CVP) less than 12 mm Hg, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) less than 12 mm Hg, left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI) more than 15 g.m.

Sternal wound dehiscence after internal mammary artery harvesting. Logical management.

There is clear evidence that the internal mammary artery is superior to other forms of vascular conduit in surgical coronary revascularisation. Its patency rate at 10 years is of the order of 2-3 times that of autologous saphenous vein. Unfortunately, harvesting of the internal mammary is associated with an increased incidence of sternal wound complications, probably due to temporary sternal devascularisation.

Heart-lung transplantation for end-stage respiratory disease in patients with cystic fibrosis at Papworth Hospital.

Between October 1985 and July 1992 we performed heart-lung transplantation in 42 patients with end-stage respiratory disease caused by cystic fibrosis. Twenty-eight of these patients are alive at 3 months to 7 years after heart-lung transplantation. Actuarial survival at 1 year and 3 years after transplantation was 78% and 65%, respectively, in this group, which compares favorably with 77% and 60%, respectively, in patients without cystic fibrosis undergoing heart-lung transplantation.

Radiological evaluation of the ascending aorta following repair of type A dissection.

A patient with persistent chronic dissection proximal to an aortic interposition graft for repair of a type A dissection prompted us to review the computed tomographic (CT) findings in 14 other such patients 5-47 months after surgery. No other case of proximal aortic dissection was identified although dilatation of the aortic root proximal to the graft was present in 8 patients (57%). Persistent dissection distal to the graft in 11 patients (79%) was in keeping with that reported by other workers.

A method of analyzing the onset and progression of coronary occlusive disease after transplantation and its effect on patient survival.

The development of transplant-acquired coronary occlusive disease is monitored with serial angiography and is graded on a three-point scale as normal, mild (< 50% stenosis), or severe (> or = 50% stenosis). Previous studies have provided information about the time to the first sign of disease on angiography or empirical descriptions of progression. The number of observed transitions between grades of disease has been recorded, and a Markov model based on these transitions is used to estimate the rate of progression through angiographically defined disease grades and the mortality rates from each grade.