Mid-term follow up results of Japanese heart transplant patients operated in UCLA Medical Center

Japanese candidates have been accepted for heart transplantation by the UCLA Medical Center in the US since 1993 due to the lack of donors available from brain-dead patients.Objectives and Methods: We monitored to patients who underwent such heart transplantation and have been seen at the out-patient clinic at Tokyo Women’s Medical University following transplantation. Pre-operative diagnosis was dilated cardiomyopathy in all patients. One patient underwent Novacor implantation as a bridge to heart transplant. All patients underwent cardiac echocardiography and cardiac catheterization including intraluminal echography.Results: All patients survived with an actuarial survival curve of 100% at 1year, 100% at 3 years and 87% at 5 years in 4.15 years of average follow-up. Two patients died due to liver dysfunction and cerebral emboli. The postoperative functional status of patients was New York Heart Association classification I in 8 (100%). Immunosuppressive therapies included triple drug therapy using either cyclosporin or tacrolimus. The incidence of acute rejection (/pt) exceeding grade 3 was 4% within three months, 3.5% in 3–6 months, and no significant rejection episode more than 6 months after transplantation. Posttransplantation coronary artery disease was seen in 2 patients, but no progression was seen after diltiazem therapy.Conclusion: Our postoperative follow-up after cardiac transplantation appears to be satisfactory.