To hit a home run as a heterotopic heart recipient—living with two hearts for over three decades: a case report

Abstract Heterotopic heart transplantation (HHT) is an alternative to the orthotopic technique in selected patients with terminal heart failure. We report the case of the longest survival after HHT, with an uneventful follow‐up for over three decades after transplantation. At the age of 25 years, en...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Emyal Alyaydin, Christian Pogoda, Henryk Welp, Angelo Dell'Aquila, Sven Martens, Ali Yilmaz, Holger Reinecke, Juergen R. Sindermann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-02-01
Series:ESC Heart Failure
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.14215
Description
Summary:Abstract Heterotopic heart transplantation (HHT) is an alternative to the orthotopic technique in selected patients with terminal heart failure. We report the case of the longest survival after HHT, with an uneventful follow‐up for over three decades after transplantation. At the age of 25 years, endomyocardial fibrosis following myocarditis rendered the patient's native heart unable to maintain the body's needs. An allograft provided a second chance at life. The HHT technique was favoured due to severe pulmonary hypertension. The patient had an uneventful follow‐up since then. The scarcity of donors and the revolutionary advances in the mechanical circulatory device field restricted the utilization of the HHT technique, but it has the potential to provide an excellent prognosis with a good quality of life.
ISSN:2055-5822