Heart Transplantation in Adolescent and Adult Patients With Congenital Heart Disease: A Case-Control Study

Background. The number of adolescent and adult patients with congenital heart disease undergoing heart transplantation is increasing. We aimed to better define the characteristics of these patients and their survival after transplantation. Methods. We describe a group of patients with end-stage heart failure owing to congenital heart disease undergoing heart transplantation at a single tertiary center and compare their short- and long-term survival with a group of matched controls with dilated cardiomyopathy and the entire cohort of transplanted patients at our center. Results. Between 1985 and 2006, a total of 322 orthotopic heart transplantations were performed at our center. Thirteen patients (mean age, 27.5 years) had a diagnosis of congenital heart disease with a wide spectrum of lesions. The survival of these 13 patients was 85% at 30 days, 1, 5, and 10 years and 77% at 20 years, which did not differ significantly to the short- and long-term survival of the entire cohort of patients with heart transplantation and to the survival of age-matched controls with dilated cardiomyopathy. Conclusion. In our single-center experience, short- and long-term survival after heart transplantation in a selected, small group of patients with end-stage heart failure owing to congenital heart disease did not differ significantly compared with a group of age-matched controls and the entire cohort.