The first orthotopic heart transplant was performed in 1967. Following on from this achievement, the first major evolution in heart transplantation was the transition from biatrial anastomosis to separate caval anastomoses, in 1991. Various strategies for myocardial protection have been used for this. This video tutorial describes heart procurement for a bicaval anastomosis technique in a case of multi-organ procurement.
© The Author 2016. Published by MMCTS on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.