14 HOUSTON METHODIST CANCER CENTER
TREATING OTHERWISE INOPERABLE CARDIAC TUMORS Cardiac autotransplantation is an advanced surgical technique that involves complete removal of the heart and provides an option for patients with left-sided cardiac tumors who previously had no surgical option. Cardiac sarcomas have been considered inoperable because vital organs and structures would be damaged using the most common, direct surgical approach to the heart. During cardiac autotransplantation, the surgeon gains unique access to the left atrium. After putting the patient on cardiopulmonary bypass and then removing the heart, the surgeon resects the tumor, makes any necessary repairs to the heart structure, inspects the heart, great vessels and left atrium for tumor infiltration, and then implants the heart back into the patient. Michael Reardon, MD, chief of cardiac surgery at Houston Methodist, has performed more cardiac autotransplants than any other surgeon in the world. A study led by Reardon shows that cardiac autotransplantation is a feasible and safe technique to treat malignant and complex benign left-sided cardiac tumors that are inaccessible via ordinary surgical resection.
Michael Reardon, MD, chief of cardiac surgery at Houston Methodist, has performed more cardiac autotransplants than any other surgeon in the world.
While extremely complex, the technique allows optimal anatomic exposure for complete resection and accurate reconstruction in the hands of a skilled and experienced surgical team. The study, which spanned 1998 to 2013 at Houston Methodist and involved 35 cardiac autotransplants performed on 34 patients, was published in the September 2014 issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.