ABSTRACT
Heart transplant is the definitive therapy for end-stage heart failure. This two part review article focussed first on the perioperative management of patients for heart transplantation. This part II will be a comprehensive review of the current status of mechanical assist device therapy for surgical management of the patient with refractory end-stage heart failure.
Subject(s)
Adult , Anticoagulants/therapeutic use , Heart Transplantation/adverse effects , Heart Transplantation/instrumentation , Heart-Assist Devices , Humans , Patient Selection , Perioperative Care , Postoperative Complications/drug therapyABSTRACT
Cardiac allotransplantation has, over the years, become the established therapeutic modality for patients with end-stage heart failure. Significant advances in immunosuppressive therapy have dramatically improved the outcome of heart transplantation over the past four decades. This review will focus on the anaesthetic challenges involved in the perioperative management of these complex patients as well as some of the proposed alternatives to transplantation.