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Surgeons are successful with heart
'reimplant' Posted 5-11-98 In an unprecedented operation, surgeons at The Methodist Hospital have completely removed a patient’s heart, cut out a malignant tumor from inside it, rebuilt the damaged organ, and then successfully reimplanted it. Guy Altmann, a 20-year-old electrical engineering major at Texas A&M, is the first person known to survive an autotransplant, say physicians who performed the six-hour procedure on April 27. About 40 cases of cardiac tumors occur for every 100,000 surgical heart patients. Altmann, who is from Covington, La., underwent surgery at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans to remove a tumor from his shoulder in August. The one in his left mitral valve was detected three months later. Because Altmann was at risk of strokes and eventual heart failure, and since the lemon-sized tumor—a fibrous histiocytoma—would respond poorly to chemotherapy and radiology, the surgery was imperative. In fact, without it, physicians speculate that Altmann would have died within two to three weeks. Altmann’s heart was stopped with chemicals, removed, and put into a bucket of ice and water, where surgeons cut the tumor away. Surgeons then replaced the damaged valve with swine tissue and rebuilt the damaged wall of the chamber with tissue from a cow’s pericardium. The operation was completed by Michael J. Reardon, MD, chief of heart and chest surgery at The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine; The Methodist Hospital’s John C. Baldwin, MD, chief of surgery; cardiologist Clement De Felice, MD; and anesthesiologist Roy Sheinbaum, MD. "He’s in very good condition," said Angela McPike, The Methodist’s spokesperson. "But it’s up in the air when he will be released." Physicians said that to the best of their knowledge, all cancerous tissue was removed. They hope to have Altmann back in school by fall. Related Sites |
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