Two years of experience with heart transplantation in children
Objective: To describe the experience at Cardiovascular Foundation of Colombia with heart transplantation in children between March 2006 and November 2008.
Methods: Descriptive study. A review of the clinical course in heart-transplanted pediatric patients.
Results: Twelve patients were transplanted; 11 with the orthotopic technique and 1 with the heterotopic technique. The diagnosis included nine cases (75%) of heart failure with dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 3 cases (25%) of congenital heart disease. The specific findings of the clinical course are shown in table 1.
Conclusions: The cardiac transplantation is feasible with good results in the medium term follow-up. This study shows similar mortality and transplant rejection rate as other studies.
| Table1. Patients´ Demographics and data | |
|---|---|
| Variable | n=12(%) |
| Age (years) | 6(2-9.5) |
| Number of days in the Transplant waiting list | 30(3-60) |
| Time in extracorporeal circulation (minutes) | 155.5 (140.5-167) |
| Days in the intensive care unit | 7.5 (5-11) |
| Post-transplantation follow-up (months) | 6.5(5-12.5) |
| Perioperative mortality | 1(8.3) |
| Late mortality | 1(8.3) |