PURPOSE:

Heart transplantation has offered children with complex congenital heart diseases and severe cardiomyopathies a chance for survival. The present article was written to show the three year experience of this procedure at the Instituto do Coração-HCFMUSP.

METHODS:

The methodology used was based on heart transplant indication criteria, inclusion criteria for donors, postoperative management, immunosuppression and prophylaxis as well as treatment of potential complications.

RESULTS:

From November 1992 to November 1995, 11 children, aged 12 days old to six years (mean 2.5 years) underwent transplantation. Sixty percent of recipients were male; weight ranged from 3.5 to 17.8 kg (mean 10.3 kg). The mean age of donors was 4.4 years (a range of three weeks to ten years), 80 male, weight ranging from 3.8 to 20 kg (median 14.3 kg). The survival rate was 91 and the remaining 10 children are doing well. The most important complications were systemic hypertension, acute rejection and infection. The number of rejections and infections per patient were 3.5 and 4.7 episodes, respectively. The follow-up was between one month to three years (average 16 months).

CONCLUSION:

In this experience, heart transplantation has given an additional opportunity for children with complex congenital heart diseases and cardiomyopathies, with a survival rate of 91 in three years.