[Heart transplant program at the UMAE, General Hospital Dr. Gaudencio González Garza, of the La Raza National Medical Center].

Background: The heart transplantation has modified the life expectancy of patients with terminal heart failure.

Objective: To present our experience in heart transplantation.

Material And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was realized for heart transplant recipients between July 21, 1988 and May 30, 2011. We evaluated the procedure for evaluation and selection of heart donors and heart transplant recipients. Also we reviewed etiology of cardiomiopathy, age and gender of patients, surgical procedure, and postoperative evolution, immediate and long-term survival.

Results: Of all 233 heart transplants performed in Mexico, 64 were done in our hospital. Seven cases were excluded due to incomplete information. We present 57 heart transplantation performed in 56 patients (one retransplantation): 27 cases with dilated cardiomiopathy (47.35%), 23 with ischemic cardiomiopathy (40.35%), four patients with terminal heart valve disease (7.0%), two with restrictive cardiomiopathy (3.5%) and one retransplantation (1.8%). Forty-six male patients (82.1%), and 10 female cases (17.9%). The mean age was 40.9 +/- 15.6 years-old (8-66 years-old). In 22 years the immediate mortality was 30.3% and the main cause was primary graft failure. The longest survival has been 10 years. All survival recipients are in functional class I.

Conclusion: It was concluded that heart transplantation is a feasible surgical option in our country for terminal heart disease.