Yoshikatsu Saiki

Heart Donation in Japan Before and After the revision of the Japanese Transplantation Act

INTRODUCTION After the revision of the Organ Transplant Act in July 2010, brain dead organ donation increased from 13 to 45 per year, and heart donation increased. The purpose of this study was to review 166 consecutive brain dead heart donors to evaluate our strategies to identify and manage organ donors. METHODS This study reviewed 166 consecutive brain dead heart donors since the Act was issued. Whereas 69 heart donations were performed between October 1997 and July 2010 before the revision of the Act, 97 heart donations were performed for the 3 years after the revision. Since November 2002, special transplant management doctors were sent to donor hospitals to assess donor organ function and to identify which organs could be transplanted. They also intensively cared for the donors to stabilize hemodynamics and to improve cardiac function by giving intravenous antidiuretic hormones and by pulmonary toileting via bronchofiberscope. RESULTS The mean heart donor age increased from 41.0 to 43.9 years after the revision. Notably, 11 hearts from donors more than 60 years old were transplanted successfully after the revision. Before the revision, the cause of death was 37 cerebrovascular disease (SAH 34, stroke 1, bleeding 2), 18 head trauma, 13 asphyxia, and 2 postresuscitation brain damage. After the revision, there were 49 cerebrovascular disease (SAH 37, stroke 2, bleeding 16, and other 4), 17 head trauma, 10 asphyxia, and 11 postresuscitation brain damage. A total of 58 donors had a history of cardiac arrest, 58 required a high dose of catecholamine drip infusion, and only 1 recipient died of primary graft dysfunction. Patient survival rate at 3 years after heart transplantation was not different before and after the revision of the Act (98.6% vs 92.2%). CONCLUSIONS Although donor age was increased and donors who died of cerebral bleeding or postresuscitation after the revision of the Act increased, the outcome after heart transplantation was not changed.

In Situ Thrombosis of Small Pulmonary Arteries in Pulmonary Hypertension Developing after Chemotherapy for Malignancy

A few reports have provided histopathological insight into pulmonary hypertension developing after antitumor chemotherapy. In general, plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy is a commonly observed finding in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension. We herein report a novel pathological finding that may characterize the histopathological change occurring in patients with pulmonary hypertension after chemotherapy for malignancy. Lung biopsy or autopsy was performed in 7 patients with pulmonary hypertension that developed during or after chemotherapy between 2006 and 2013 to examine the pulmonary vascular changes or to determine the cause of death. Pathological findings included in situ thrombosis in the small pulmonary arteries in 4 of 7 patients. In 2 of 4 patients, pulmonary hypertension was controlled by anticoagulants and antithrombotic agents. One patient who had organized thrombi attained spontaneous remission with oxygen therapy. The other patient died of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest during chemotherapy. Autopsy showed complete occlusion of the peripheral small pulmonary arteries and veins by thrombi. These results demonstrate that in situ thrombosis in the small pulmonary arteries could cause pulmonary hypertension after chemotherapy.

Continuous flow left ventricular assist device implantation concomitant with aortic arch replacement and aortic valve closure in a patient with end-stage heart failure associated with bicuspid aortic valve

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has become an established treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure as a bridge to cardiac transplantation. During LVAD implantation, some patients require concomitant surgeries, including tricuspid valve repair, aortic valve repair or replacement, and patent foramen ovale closure. However, concomitant aortic surgeries are rare in patients requiring LVAD implantation. We successfully performed total arch replacement with an open distal technique, aortic valve closure, and continuous flow LVAD implantation simultaneously.

Real-time monitoring of spinal cord blood flow with a novel sensor mounted on a cerebrospinal fluid drainage catheter in an animal model

OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to develop a novel monitoring system for spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) to test the efficacy of the SCBF sensor in an animal model. METHODS The sensor system consisted of 2 optical fibers, a pedestal for fiber fixation, and a mirror for the laser reflection and was incorporated into a cerebrospinal fluid drainage catheter. In vivo studies were performed in a swine model (n=10) to measure SCBF during spinal cord ischemia induced by clamping the descending thoracic aorta and supra-aortic neck vessels, when necessary. A temporary low cardiac output model was also created by inflow clamping of the inferior vena cava to analyze the quantitative changes in SCBF during this maneuver. RESULTS The developed SCBF monitoring catheter placed intrathecally could detect SCBF in all the swine. The SCBF after aortic crossclamping at the fourth intercostal level exhibited diverse changes reproducibly among the swine, with a >25% reduction in SCBF in 5 pigs, an increase in 3, and no significant changes in 2. Consistent reductions were recorded during inferior vena cava occlusion. The mean SCBF decreased by 32% after inferior vena cava occlusion when the cardiac output had decreased by 27%. CONCLUSIONS We have developed a novel SCBF sensor that could detect real-time changes in spinal cord perfusion in a swine model. The device holds promise to detect imminent ischemia or ensure acceptable blood perfusion in the spinal cord and could further enhance our understanding of spinal cord circulation.

Contralateral Pulmonary Artery Banding After Single Lobar Lung Transplantation

A 14-year-old female patient underwent right single living-donor lobar lung transplantation for bronchiolitis obliterans after bone marrow transplantation. The patient experienced a complication with severe hypoxemia requiring venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which appeared to result from significant ventilation-perfusion mismatch caused by preferential ventilation of the transplanted lobe and relatively preserved perfusion to the native lung. On day 2, we performed left pulmonary artery banding, which significantly improved oxygenation leading to weaning from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Our experience indicates that contralateral pulmonary artery banding may be a feasible option to rescue patients from hypoxemia resulting from ventilation-perfusion mismatch after single living-donor lobar lung transplantation.