Albanian Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery (2020) 4/2: 732 - 737
DOI: 10.32391/ajtes.v4i2.111
CASE REPORTS
Anaesthesia for Vaginal Prolapse Surgery in the Heart Transplant Recipient.
A Case Report
Saimir KUCI
1*
, Adriana MISJA
1
, Alfred IBRAHIMI
1
, Ermal LIKAJ
2
,
Petrit REXHEPI
3
, Orion GLIOZHENI
3
, Ilir OHRI
1
Received: 10 November 2019 / Accepted: 25 November 2019 / Published online: 20 July 2020
© The Author(s) 2020. This article is published with open access at https://journal.astes.org.al
Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, we need to deal with heart transplanted patients for other medical concerns. So, it is important to see in
detail different aspects and modalities of their care during other types of surgery. A transplant team will carefully monitor each heart
trans-plant recipient and should be possible to seek information on the patient’s overall status. They will be able to inform on the most
recent investigations (ECG to assess graft function, recent biopsy for rejection, angiography for coronaries, etc.).
Case report: Our patient, a 65-year-old lady underwent heart transplantation 5 years before. The cardiac situation was stable and she
was doing fne. She was recovered in the gynaecological clinic with a diagnosis of vaginal prolapse with surgical indication General
anaesthesia was done with fentanyl 7 ml, pavulon 4 mg, propofol 200 mg and sevofurane 1.5-2.2%. The patient was monitored during
surgery with SpO2, ECG, IBP, CVP. The operation technique was open of vaginal plastic repair.
Discussion: By 3 months, most recipients of heart transplant came under New York Heart Association (NYHA) I class. The last
UK national survey about health-related quality of life after cardiac transplantation indicates that, 1 year after surgery, there is an
improvement in quality of life (60% are much better; 28% somewhat better) and there is no deterioration in general health at 3–5
years, except that many of them have symptoms compatible with depression.
Conclusion: Perioperative care of heart transplant recipients will entail a greater attention to maintaining an adequate preload and
vascular tone, to avoiding infections and to being aware of the multiple side effects of immunosuppressive therapy. References and
recommended reading
Papers of particular interest, published within the annual period of review, have been highlighted as: of special interest of outstanding
interest Additional references related to this topic can also be found in the Current World Literature section in this issue
Keywords: Heart trasplant, denervated organ, immunosuppressants
These patients often require the expertise of
nontransplant specialists when they present with new health
problems, sometimes many years after their transplant.
Anaesthetists need to remain abreast of new
developments in the feld of cardiac transplantation.
Discussing the patient with the transplant team in advance
of potential surgery will help minimize problems in the
perioperative period.
Physiology of the transplanted heart
The transplanted heart is a denervated organ, but intrinsic
cardiac mechanisms are preserved and the heart will be
exquisitely sensitive to changes in flling conditions, and the
Starling volume–pressure relationship becomes paramount
in adjusting contractility.
The resting heart rate is high (90 – 100 bpm) as vagal
tone is lost. Tachycardia in response to physiological
stress (such as hypovolaemia) is blunted as it depends on
Introduction
The patient with heart transplant can be managed as any
other patient, and a careless anaesthetist could cause great
harm by doing so; however, the days when these patients
were handled exclusively by specialized teams are long
gone.
Original article, no submission or publication in advance or in parallel
* Corresponding author:
Saimir KUÇI MD, PhD
* saimirkuci@gmail.com
1 Department of Anaesthesiology University Hospital Centre
“Mother Teresa” Tirana, ALBANIA
2 Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Centre
“Mother Teresa” Tirana, ALBANIA
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology “Koco Gliozheni”
Hospital, Tirana, ALBANIA