The CardioWest Total Artificial Heart for Chronic Heart Transplant Rejection

Mechanical circulatory support has been used to treat graft failure after heart transplantation, but in patients who needed mechanical circulatory Support because of chronic rejection, we have suffered from the treatment because its outcome was catastrophic. Multiple organ failure was often caused by the addition of or increase in immunosuppressive medications, and it is known as it cause of the poor outcomes. The CardioWest total artificial heart was implanted for a case of chronic heart transplant rejection to enable complete withdrawal of immunosuppressive medication. The patient underwent re-heart transplantation, with a good result. This is a new therapeutic technique for chronic graft rejection. (Circ J 2009; 73: 1167-1168)