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Heart transplantation on the first day of life from an anencephalic donor
Author(s) -
Parisi F.,
Squitieri C.,
Carotti A.,
Di Carlo D.,
Gagliardi M. G.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
pediatric transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.457
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1399-3046
pISSN - 1397-3142
DOI - 10.1034/j.1399-3046.1999.00025.x
Subject(s) - medicine , heart transplantation , transplantation , necrotizing enterocolitis , surgery , heart failure , cardiology , pediatrics
Heart transplantation on the first day of life, and graft harvesting from anencephalic donors, have been very rare events in the history of transplantation. At Bambino Gesù Hospital (Rome), heart transplantation was performed on a newborn 9 h after birth, using a graft harvested from an anencephalic donor. This graft achieved a good cardiocirculatory function, but the recipient died of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) on post‐operative day (POD) 10. Despite failure, this case and other reports support the concept that hearts from anencephalic donors can work normally, and indicate that heart transplantation on the first day of life may have a favorable outcome if postoperative maintenance of multi‐organ balance and function is successful.