Seventy-eight cardiac transplantations were performed between July 1982 and March 1989. The perioperative death rate was 10%. Overall survival was 86%. Among the long-term survivors, 14 patients underwent 16 noncardiac surgical procedures. Seven of them required emergency laparotomy, four for biliary tract disease, one for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, one for suspected abdominal sepsis and one for enterocolitis. Elective surgical interventions included repair of symptomatic abdominal wall hernia, treatment of hemorrhoids or perianal condylomas, total hip arthroplasty, maxillary sinus drainage and resection of a duodenal villous adenoma. Preoperatively, all patients received cyclosporine orally. Ten of the 14 patients were on triple-drug immunosuppression (cyclosporine, azathioprine and low-dose prednisone [less than 0.20 mg/kg daily]). The remaining four patients took cyclosporine with either azathioprine or prednisone. There were no deaths. Complications were limited to residual choledocholithiasis treated by percutaneous removal, two cases of wound infection and an incisional hernia. The authors' experience indicates that noncardiac surgical procedures may be safely performed in patients who have received a heart transplant.