This summer, the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the West German Heart and Vascular Centre at Essen University Hospital has performed three heart transplants, all using the innovative “Beating Heart” technology.
The team, led by Clinic Director Prof. Payam Akhyari, used the technique in all three procedures. It was first used in Germany last year, also at Essen University Hospital.
With this technique, the donor heart is restarted immediately after removal and implanted while still beating. Compared with conventional transplantation techniques, this offers the significant advantage of reducing ischaemic time – the period during which an organ is deprived of oxygen – to an absolute minimum.
This can substantially reduce the risk of complications such as cardiac arrest and rejection, as well as the need for mechanical circulatory support following heart transplantation.
I am very proud of the performance of our interdisciplinary team and of the excellent and traditionally close collaboration with the Department of Cardiology and Angiology, headed by Prof. Tienush Rassaf. Only by working together can such cutting-edge medicine be delivered
Prof. Payam Akhyari, Clinic Director
All three patients had to be stabilised with ventricular assist devices before transplantation and were each on the high-urgency waiting list. All three recovered well following the procedures and are in a stable condition.
The heart transplants performed using this state-of-the-art technology underscore the outstanding expertise of Essen University Hospital as the only transplant centre in North Rhine-Westphalia to perform transplants of all major organs.
Prof. Angelika Eggert, Medical Director and Chair of the Board of Essen University Hospital.
Following these successful heart transplants, Essen University Hospital has now carried out nine heart transplants, almost reaching the minimum target of ten set for 2026 by the middle of the year.
“This provides further compelling evidence that the political decision to retain heart transplantation at Essen University Hospital in the future was the right one,” Prof. Eggert added.
