• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.339-344
• /
• 1994

Sinus node dysfunction is common after orthotopic heart transplantation.Electrophysiologic studies have documented a high incidence [46% to 50%] of impaired sinus node automaticity and sinoatrial conduction in the early posttransplantation period. Sinus node dysfunction persists in over 20 % of patients and leads to prolonged bradyarrythmias, including sinus or nodal bradycardia and sinus arrest.The purpose of this paper was to observe sinus node dysfunction after orthotopic heart transplantation. Ten cardiac recipient dogs were monitored continuously after orthotopic transplantations between unrelated adult mongrel dogs. Crystalloid cardioplegic solution [Choongwoi Cardioplegia

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.32 no.11
• /
• pp.984-988
• /
• 1999

Background: Donor-specific blood transfusion(DSBT) before organ transplantation has been demonstrated to prolong allograft survival; the mechanism of this effect has remained unclear. Only a few researches have been performed on this subject in our country. Material and Method: To investigate the effect of DSBT, we selected 5 donor recipient combinations using rats of pure strain such as PVG, ACI, and LEW. One ml of donor whole blood was transfused to each recipient through the femoral vein 7 days prior to transplantation. The donor heart was transplanted to the recipient's abdominal vessels heterotopically using modified Ono and Lindsey's microsurgical technique. Five transplantations were done for each combination. Postoperatively, donor heart beat was palpated everyday through the recipent's abdominal wall. Rejection was defined as complete cessation of donor heart beat. Result: The allogeneic heart grafts transplanted from PVG strain to ACI strain(PVG ACI) without DSBT were acutely rejected(mean survival 10.2 days). With pretransplant DSBT, the cardiac allografts in PVG ACI and LEW PVG combinations survived indefinitely(more than 100 days), those in ACI PVG combination survived 12 to 66 days(mean 31.8 days), those in PVG LEW survived 8 to 11 days(mean 10.0 days), and those in ACI LEW survived 7 to 9 days(mean 8.0 days). In brief, DSBT prior to heart transplantation was definitely effective in PVG ACI and LEW PVG combinations and moderately effective in ACI PVG combination, but not effective in PVG LEW and ACI LEW combinations. Conclusion: DSBT prior to heart transplantation showed variable effects, but might prolong cardiac allograft survival indefinitely in some donor recipient strain combinations. The mechanism of this effect should be further investigated.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.844-853
• /
• 1990

We have performed 27 cases of orthotopic homologous cardiac transplantation using Korean mongrel dogs and one case of sham operation for the evaluation of harmful effect of cardiopulmonary bypass itself on the dog from April, 1989 to June, 1990. Our previous reports have already demonstrated basal hemodynamic and hematologic data on the canine homologous heart transplantation and the fundamental principles of transplantation of the heart. The mean body weight of recipients was 13.2$\pm$1.2kg with a rage of 11 ~ 15kg, and the hemodynamic and hematologic pictures were almost same as the result of previous reports from our hospital, except marked decrease in postoperative platelet count[from 3.18 $\pm$0.80x106/mm3 to 1.41$\pm$0 37x 106/mm3]. Mean survival time was 24.82$\pm$49.40 hours with the longest survival of 264 hours. Donor cardiectomy included coronary vasodilatation with diltiazem, potassium arrest, and the rapid cooling of the heart suspending in the specially designed ice-bath. Median sternotomy provided excellent exposure of the surgical field. 6 \ulcorner0 prolene suture was used for the anastomosis of both atrial cuffs and the great arteries, and we found the fact that stenosis, bleeding, thrombus formation around the anastomotic site could be decreased with the use of everted horizontal mattress suture techniques. Immunosuppression was done with a combination of lower dose Cyclosporin-A, Azathioprine, methyl-prednisolone, but our cases still showed too short survival to worry about graft rejection. Still poor was our quality control of experimental animal, we had much difficulties in postmortem evaluation of the dogs. Low cardiac output due to biventricular failure, intractable supraventricular or ventricular tachyarrhythmia, postoperative massive bleeding, sepsis were most frequent findings that could be thought as a cause of death. A few cases showed subendocardial patch hemorrhage in both ventricular cavity or atrial septum at autopsy, suggesting acute subendocardial infarction. Although our team overcome most of the technical problems of orthotopic heart transplantation, we should pile up further knowledges about donor heart preservation, quality control of animal, infection, rejection, the effect of the cardiopulmonary bypass to improve the results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.936-943
• /
• 1989

We underwent 21 cases of orthotopic heart transplantation in the mongrel dogs from May, 1988, to April, 1989. The preoperative hematologic and hemodynamic results were similar to those of the previous reports except glucose and albumin. The exposure of operative field was excellent under the median sternotomy. All the cases died within 48 hours and the mean survival time excluding 4 operative deaths was 11.23*9.36 hours [\ulcorner.D., range 0.3-35.5 hours] We speculated the main cause of death was low cardiac output due to the myocardial failure. At autopsy, there was feature of intramyocardial hemorrhage and coagulation necrosis suggesting poor myocardial protection. Now our team is ready to do heart transplantation in man but we need more precise experiences, especially on the immunosuppression and myocardial protection. Recently we continue further experiments with improving results.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.83-86
• /
• 2000

A vascular necrosis of the talus has frequently been reported following trauma because talus has no muscle insertions, sixty percent of the surface of the talus is covered by hyaline cartilage, takes only a small area for entrance of a blood supply. Osteonecrosis is also associated with a variety of nontraumatic disorders. There are many indications for steroid usage, patient with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and status- post renal or cardiac transplantation may be on long- term steroid usage, osteonecrosis may develop. A vascular necrosis of the talus secondary to chronic steroid usage is an unusual case. Delay in detection of osteonecrosis may lead to fragmentation and collapse of the talar body. When pain on range of motion is present and conservative treatment have been exhausted, surgical treatment is indicated, that is, fusion of the ankle joint. However it is important that conservative treatment may prevent its various sequelae with early diagnosis because steroid - treated patients have a more operative risk and increased risk for postoperative infection. We report a rare case of corticosteroid induced avascular necrosis of talus after cardiac transplantation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.56 no.5
• /
• pp.322-327
• /
• 2023

Background: Superior vena cava (SVC) stenosis during follow-up is a major concern after heart transplantation, and many technical modifications have been introduced. We analyzed the surgical results of the SVC intima layer-only suture technique in heart transplantation. Methods: We performed SVC anastomosis with sutures placed only in the intima during heart transplantation. We measured the area of the SVC at 3 different points (above the anastomosis, at the anastomosis, and below the anastomosis) in an axial view by freely drawing regions of interest, and then evaluated the degree of stenosis. Patients who underwent cardiac computed tomography (CT) at 2 years postoperatively between June 2017 and May 2020 were included in this study. Results: We performed heart transplantation in 41 patients. Among them, 24 patients (16 males and 8 females) underwent follow-up cardiac CT at 2 years postoperatively. The mean age at operation was 49.4±4.9 years. The diagnoses at time of operation were dilated cardiomyopathy (n=12), ischemic heart disease (n=8), valvular heart disease (n=2), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n=1), and congenital heart disease (n=1). No cases of postoperative bleeding requiring intervention occurred. The mean CT follow-up duration was 1.9±0.7 years. At follow-up, the mean areas at the 3 key points were 2.7±0.8 cm², 2.7±0.8 cm², and 2.7±1.0 cm² (p=0.996). There were no SVC stenosis-related symptoms during follow-up. Conclusion: The suture technique using only the SVC intimal layer is a safe and effective method for use in heart transplantation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.39 no.3 s.260
• /
• pp.226-229
• /
• 2006

Recently, heart transplantation has been accepted as a standard treatment for infant and children with end-stage cardiomyopathy or complex congenital heart disease. Due to the shortage of donors, size-mismatched cardiac transplantation is common. After size-mismatched transplantation, there could be side-effects such as hypertension and hypertensive encephalopathy because of the big-heart. Donor heart is also known to do remodel as time goes by. This is a case report of a size-mismatched heart transplantation between 9-year-old boy and a 39-year-old female whose body weight is almost twice of him. In this case, classical postoperative hypertension and hypertensive encephalopathy developed but was successfully managed. The donor heart has remodeled to normal dimension during 3 years follow-up period.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.51 no.3
• /
• pp.167-171
• /
• 2018

Background: Heart transplantation (HTx) can be a life-saving procedure for patients in whom single ventricle palliation or one-and-a-half ($1\text\tiny{1/2}$) ventricle repair has failed. However, the presence of a previous bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt (BCS) necessitates extensive pulmonary artery angioplasty, which may lead to worse outcomes. We sought to assess the post-HTx outcomes in patients with a previous BCS, and to assess the technical feasibility of leaving the BCS in place during HTx. Methods: From 1992 to 2017, 11 HTx were performed in patients failing from Fontan (n=7), BCS (n=3), or $1\text\tiny{1/2}$ ventricle (n=1) physiology at Asan Medical Center. The median age at HTx was 12.0 years (range, 3-24 years). Three patients (27.3%) underwent HTx without taking down the previous BCS. Results: No early mortality was observed. One patient died of acute rejection 3.5 years after HTx. The overall survival rate was 91% at 2 years. In the 3 patients without BCS take-down, the median anastomosis time was 65 minutes (range, 54-68 minutes), which was shorter than in the patients with BCS take-down (93 minutes; range, 62-128 minutes), while the postoperative central venous pressure (CVP) was comparable to the preoperative CVP. Conclusion: Transplantation can be successfully performed in patients with end-stage congenital heart disease after single ventricle palliation or $1\text\tiny{1/2}$ ventricle repair. Leaving the BCS in place during HTx may simplify the operative procedure without causing significant adverse outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Transplantation
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.154-159
• /
• 2014

Background: Lung transplantation (LTx) is a life-saving treatment for patients with end-stage lung disease; however, the shortage of donor lungs has been a major limiting factor to increasing the number of LTx. Growing experience following LTx using donor lungs after cardiac death (DCD) has been promising, although concerns remain. The purpose of this study was to develop a DCD lung harvest model using an ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) system and to assess the function of presumably damaged lungs harvested from the DCD donor in pigs. Methods: The 40 kg pigs were randomly divided into the control group with no ischemic lung injury (n=5) and the study group (n=5), which had 1 hour of warm ischemic lung injury after cardiac arrest. Harvested lungs were placed in the EVLP circuit and oxygen capacities (OC), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and peak airway pressure (PAP) were evaluated every hour for 4 hours. At the end of EVLP, specimens were excised for pathologic review and wet/dry ratio. Results: No statistically significant difference in OC (P=0.353), PVR (P=0.951), and PAP (P=0.651) was observed in both groups. Lung injury severity score (control group vs. study group: 0.700±0.303 vs. 0.870±0.130; P=0.230) and wet/dry ratio (control group vs. study group: 5.89±0.97 vs. 6.20±0.57; P=0.560) also showed no statistically significant difference between the groups. Conclusions: The function of DCD lungs assessed using EVLP showed no difference from that of control lungs without ischemic injury; therefore, utilization of DCD lungs can be a new option to decrease the number of deaths on the waiting list.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.322-325
• /
• 1996

ABO incompatible allografting is contraindicated in most organ transplantations including heart because of the hyperacute and acute rejections caused by preexisting antibodies. However several reports showed that ABO incompatible organ transplantation could be managed successfully by plasmapheresis, antibody adsorption, immunosuppression, splenectomy, and so on. We experienced one success in ABO incompatible cardiac transplantation by means of plasmapheresis and immunosuppression. However, this does not justify heart transplantation across ABO blood group barriers. Because the effect of ABO incompatibility on continued acute rejection or chronic rejection has not been fully understood, long-term follow-up study is required.