Key points Do partial heart transplants provide growing heart valve implants for newborns? Findings The first partial heart transplant in humans demonstrated valve growth at follow-up for more than 1 year. Meaning Partial heart transplant is a new approach to treating newborns with irreparable heart valve dysfunction. |
Importance
Treatment of newborns with irreparable heart valve dysfunction remains an unsolved problem because there are no heart valve implants that grow. Therefore, newborns with heart valve implants must undergo recurring implant exchanges until an adult-sized valve can fit.
Aim
Deliver the first heart valve implant to grow.
Design, scope and participants
Case report from a pediatric reference center, with follow-up for more than 1 year. Participants were a recipient newborn with persistent truncus arteriosus and irreparable truncal valve dysfunction and a donor newborn with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
Intervention
First transplant in humans of the part of the heart that contains the aortic and pulmonary valves.
Main results and measures
Growth of transplanted valves and hemodynamic function.
Results
Echocardiography demonstrated adaptive growth and excellent hemodynamic function of the partial heart transplant valves.
Conclusions and relevance
In this child, partial heart transplantation provided growing heart valve implants with a good outcome at one year of age. Partial heart transplants may improve the treatment of newborns with irreparable heart valve dysfunction.
Source: P artial heart transplant successfully grows in infant. Good Morning America
