Heart transplant surgery

This is a surgical procedure done on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatment no longer works.

The process requires the removal of the diseased heart and sews a donor heart in place. This is usually done when the patient has not responded or improved enough with medication or other surgeries. The common procedure is to take a functioning heart, with or without both lungs, from a recently deceased person (brain dead), and implant it into the patient. The patient’s own heart is removed and replaced or the recipient’s diseased heart is left in place to support the donor heart. Heart transplant is not regarded as a cure for heart disease; it is a life-saving treatment to improve the quality of the patient’s life.

A heart transplant surgery usually takes between four-to- six hours. During the surgery, the patient is connected to a heart-lung by-pass machines. It is a major surgery and some complications are life-threatening. Usually, though, a patient can return to a normal life.