An unprecedented operation thanks to an innovative technology applied to the devices to preserve the organ. The first “beating heart” heart transplant in Europe. Thus, a 69-year-old man from Pordenone, suffering from terminal post-ischemic cardiomyopathy, was saved. The man was hospitalized in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit. To keep him alive it was necessary to resort to mechanical cardiovascular assistance systems. Last May 20, the 69-year-old underwent a transplant and has now been discharged from intensive care. The transport of the heart using a beating heart preservation system, in normothermia, associated with the subsequent implantation without having to stop the organ again made it possible to reduce the ischemia time, and therefore possible organ damage, to just 35 minutes.
In the past
Until now, transplanting a heart was only possible after stopping it through specific solutions to be able to transport it and subsequently implant it in the new patient’s chest. In some cases, depending on the distance from the sampling sites and the transport methods, with conventional techniques the time in which the organ remained still and not perfused could be very variable, reaching in some cases 4-5 hours, a time beyond which the risk of heart failure became high.
Cardiac surgery in Udine
The Cardiac Surgery of Udine has been a national point of reference for transplantology activity for years with more than 750 heart transplants under its belt. In recent years, it has been able to develop and perfect innovative solutions with the aim of increasing the availability of usable organs in the donor pool. New and sophisticated devices for the preservation of the heart during transport have made it possible on the one hand to reduce the ischemia time and on the other to extend the preservation time of the organ before implantation.
The statements
“A successful experience that comes from afar: for almost forty years, Cardiac Surgery in Udine has been a national point of reference for transplant activity. The possibility of independently building optimal working conditions for the staff was among the factors fundamentals that allowed the achievement of this result, unthinkable until recently”. This is the reflection of the regional health councilor Riccardo Riccardi.
The head of the department of the Udine hospital, Igor Vendramin stated: “A strong thank you goes to all the colleagues (doctors, nurses, technicians, psychologists and healthcare workers) who, with great dedication and availability, have made it possible to reach this goal and who allow us to guarantee transplant activity every day, from the hospital to follow-up that lasts the patient’s entire life”.
He then added: “The shortage of organs remains strong and the percentage of patients dying on the waiting list is high. Technological innovation and new ways of managing the organ to be transplanted open up new scenarios in the use of defined hearts marginal (including donation for cardiac death or for donations of organs with a stopped heart), which may not be used with conventional techniques, expanding the number of transplantable patients and thus offering new hope to the many people waiting for an organ” .
