Achieved 400 Cases of Heart Transplant
Heart Vascular Stroke Institute's Heart Failure Team achieved 400 cases of heart transplants for the second time in Korea.
After the first successful heart transplant surgery in December 1996, 100 cases in 2011, 200 cases in 2016, 300 cases in 2019, and 400 cases in May of this year were achieved. This is an achievement that was accomplished throughout 26 years.
The hospital's Heart Failure Team has maintained an esteemed position in Korea in terms of both surgical performance and research in heart transplant using mechanical circulatory aids such as ECMO and artificial hearts. Because patients are in a state of weakened immunity after a heart transplant and it is quite risky for patients to wait in the intensive care unit while on mechanical life support device, e.g. ECMO, prior to surgery, Korea’s first 'Multidisciplinary Advanced Heart Failure Team' consisting of Department of Cardiology, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Critical Care Medicine, and Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine began to work closely together and exchanged opinions in real-time to provide optimal treatments to advanced or end-stage heart failure patients.
Recently, the Multidisciplinary Heart Failure Team received attention by publishing their experiences of improving the survival rate of heart transplant patients through a collaborative multidisciplinary team approach in an international academic journal. Furthermore, in Korea, the Heart Failure Team is leading the introduction of the left ventricle assist device (LVAD), a type of mechanical pump that is attached to the heart, and also performs the most surgeries with unmatched skills in the field of heart transplant for patients.