Heart Transplantation: Surgical Technique. Arie Blitz, MD

[lucyjunipurr]

This is amazing. It's too bad the only thing that would fix my heart is a lobotomy :P

[GokuMizuno]

@ashleyster13. Simple; you just jam it in there, like trying to fit into a shirt that is three sizes too small. Or if the patient is to big, you chop them off at the knees. :p j/k

@heartfixer100. Thank you for your prompt response.

[ashleyster13]

Dr. Blitz, at around the 11:31 mark, you said you were "checking for good size match". What happens is you find that the donor heart doesn't fit properly within the patient?

[heartfixer100]

@ashleyster13: My comment about a good size match relates more to making adjustments at the time of implantation to match the size of the donor heart to the recipient heart. There are many things that can be done at the time of implantation to modify the size of the chambers so that they fit well together. In addition, additional prosthetic (artificial) material can be used to make up for any discrepancies.

[GokuMizuno]

Dr. Blitz, what happens if the donor heart is dropped, damaged, or severely cut during the transplantation? I know there are procedures to prevent that kind of thing, but assume an accident happens.

[heartfixer100]

@GokuMizuno: There are some situations that are salvageable, and others that are not. Generally speaking, the recipient heart is not removed until the donor heart has arrived safely in the OR. Although these situations have occurred in movies and TV series, I do not know of any instances that have actually occurred. If something does happen, however, to make the donor heart unusable, artificial heart technology can be used until a new donor heart becomes available.

[metallicmoon]

Incredible. I'm not sure who the audience is meant to be for this video, but it's incredible to watch even as a layman. For future videos, it would be neat to have some wide shots to give perspective and some more simplified explanations for us laypeople.

[drewsky684]

Wow man, that is just....