A heart transplant procedure is a major medical procedure. The heart is one of the most critical organs of the body. The pumping action of the heart is necessary for most of the major functions of the body to take place. Without this, the individual cannot live. There are artificial machines that can be used in hospitals to take over the functions of the heart. However, these cannot be used continuously as the patient will need a working heart that will replace the organ in his or her body. A heart transplant procedure occurs when a donor heart is found that matches the blood parameters of the patient. Once this heart is found, the heart transplant procedure can begin.
There are several heart transplant procedure steps that take place during this long drawn out procedure. The patient will be under general anesthesia throughout the procedure. The patient will be attached to an artificial system that circulates blood through the body while the procedure is being performed. The patient’s heart is then disconnected individually from each blood vessel and removed. Each person has some unique features when it comes to the exact points for the connection of blood vessels. The donor heart will therefore need to be adjusted so that it fits into the existing area within the body of the individual. The critical stage of the heart transplant procedure is the attachment of the donor heart. This happens through a series of small procedures where each individual blood vessel is attached in its correct place. When this is complete, the donor heart is restarted using electrical current delivered through paddles. This electrical current is supposed to jump start the heart.
The heart transplant procedure steps described above relate to the orthotopic heart transplant process. The heterotopic heart transplant procedure, on the other hand, is a procedure where the donor heart is added to the body of the patient without removing the patient’s heart. The heart has four main chambers which perform the pumping functions. Therefore, the addition of the donor heart is done in such a way that the chambers are joined together so that the donor heart can assist the patient’s heart. This process is done if there is scope for the patient’s own heart to recover from the disease or injury that it has suffered. The heterotopic heart transplant procedure therefore gives the patient an improved chance of survival, especially if the original heart starts working normally once again.