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Anesthesia and Perioperative Care for Organ Transplantation pp 183–193Cite as

Postoperative Care of Heart Transplant Patients

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Abstract

Postoperative care of heart transplant patients includes early postoperative care and long-term care, and complications. In the early postoperative period, care focuses on optimising hemodynamic stability and graft function, institution of immunosupression therapy, and prevention of infection. Complications during this time include bleeding and coagulopathies, primary graft failure, acute rejection, arrhythmias, and infection. Management is in intensive care, with a multidisciplinary approach involving early investigation and management of complications. In the later postoperative period, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, hypertension, renal disease, diabetes, and malignancy are the most common complications, and contribute significantly to overall transplant morbidity and mortality. Management of long-term complications includes routine screening for problems such as rejection and cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and prompt investigation of symptoms and signs consistent with complications of transplantation, to allow optimal outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anaesthesia, Auckland City Hospital, Park Road, Grafton, Auckland, 1148, New Zealand

    Sara Jane Allen M.B.Ch.B., F.C.I.C.M. & David Sidebotham M.B.Ch.B., F.A.N.Z.C.A.

  2. Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Intensive Care Unit, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand

    Sara Jane Allen M.B.Ch.B., F.C.I.C.M. & David Sidebotham M.B.Ch.B., F.A.N.Z.C.A.

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  1. Sara Jane Allen M.B.Ch.B., F.C.I.C.M.
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  2. David Sidebotham M.B.Ch.B., F.A.N.Z.C.A.
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Correspondence to Sara Jane Allen M.B.Ch.B., F.C.I.C.M. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Kathirvel Subramaniam

  2. Department of Anesthesiology The Clinical and Translational Science Institute The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Tetsuro Sakai

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Allen, S.J., Sidebotham, D. (2017). Postoperative Care of Heart Transplant Patients. In: Subramaniam, K., Sakai, T. (eds) Anesthesia and Perioperative Care for Organ Transplantation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6377-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6377-5_14

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