Abstract
Between July 1982 and October 1987, surgeons at our institution performed 215 cardiac transplantation procedures, 1 of which was in a 46-year-old Jehovah's Witness with congestive cardiomyopathy, who required preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump support. At surgery, the cardiopulmonary bypass system was primed with 1600 ml of Ringer's lactate solution and dextrose. In the 57 minutes during which the patient was on cardiopulmonary bypass, the intra-aortic balloon was removed and successful orthotopic heart transplantation was performed. No supplemental blood or blood product was used, either during or after the procedure. The estimated intraoperative blood loss was 300 ml, and the postoperative chest tube drainage amounted to 1495 ml. Postoperative hematologic abnormalities (mild hypoprothrombinemia, mild thrombocytopenia, mild platelet dysfunction, and moderate hypochromic microcytic anemia) were corrected with Imferon, vitamin K, and desmopressin acetate administered intravenously, and with ferrous sulfate administered orally. This case, which to our knowledge is only the 2nd cardiac transplant in a Jehovah's Witness, further establishes that these patients can undergo even the most major of open-heart procedures without supplemental blood. (Texas Heart Institute Journal 1988;15:189-191)
Keywords: Heart surgery
Keywords: heart transplantation, orthotopic
Keywords: cardiomyopathy, congestive
Keywords: blood transfusion
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Barnard C. N. The operation. A human cardiac transplant: an interim report of a successful operation performed at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. S Afr Med J. 1967 Dec 30;41(48):1271–1274. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Beddermann Christoph, Norman John C., Cooley Denton A. COMBINED REPLACEMENT OF THE AORTIC VALVE AND ASCENDING AORTA IN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES: REPORT OF TWO CASES. Cardiovasc Dis. 1979 Jun;6(2):195–204. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- COOLEY D. A., CRAWFORD E. S., HOWELL J. F., BEALL A. C., Jr OPEN HEART SURGERY IN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES. Am J Cardiol. 1964 Jun;13:779–781. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(64)90427-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chiariello Luigi, Sandiford Frank M., Cooley Denton A. AORTOCORONARY BYPASS IN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES: RESULTS IN 36 PATIENTS. Cardiovasc Dis. 1974;1(2):87–94. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Corno A. F., Laks H., Stevenson L. W., Clark S., Drinkwater D. C. Heart transplantation in a Jehovah's Witness. J Heart Transplant. 1986 Mar-Apr;5(2):175–177. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]