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Heart Transplantation

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Critical Care of Children with Heart Disease

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Abstract

Heart transplantation in children has steadily expanded since the first operation was performed in 1967. It remains the last therapeutic option for patients with end-stage heart failure from congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Patients must undergo a comprehensive evaluation prior to transplant to fully understand the risk and benefits of the procedure. Waitlist mortality currently sits at about 10%, which has decreased dramatically with the advent of the ventricular assist device. Survival has increased as well, with roughly 50% surviving to 15 years posttransplant. While it can significantly prolong one’s life, serious complications are common, including graft rejection and multisystem disease secondary to necessary postoperative management and immunosuppression. This chapter provides the reader with an in-depth, state-of-the-art review of pediatric heart transplantation, with focus on management in the intensive care unit.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Matthew D. Zinn

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Steven A. Webber

  3. Department of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Victor O. Morell

  4. Section of Congenital Cardiac Surgery, North Carolina Children’s Heart Center, Surgery & Pediatrics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Mahesh S. Sharma

Authors
  1. Matthew D. Zinn
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  2. Steven A. Webber
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  3. Victor O. Morell
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  4. Mahesh S. Sharma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew D. Zinn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chief, Division of Cardiac Critical Care Medicine Executive Director, Telemedicine Co-director, Children’s National Heart Institute, Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC, USA

    Ricardo A. Munoz

  2. Department of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Victor O. Morell

  3. Associate Medical Director, CHCO Heart Institute Head, Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Program & Inpatient Services Director, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Children’s Hospital Colorado, Tenured Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

    Eduardo M. da Cruz

  4. Department of Pharmacy, Pediatric Critical Care, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Carol G. Vetterly

  5. Department of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, UPMC – Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Jose Pedro da Silva

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Zinn, M.D., Webber, S.A., Morell, V.O., Sharma, M.S. (2020). Heart Transplantation. In: Munoz, R., Morell, V., da Cruz, E., Vetterly, C., da Silva, J. (eds) Critical Care of Children with Heart Disease . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21870-6_50

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21870-6_50

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