Gangahar D M, Liggett S P, Casey J, Carveth S W, Reese H E, Buchman R J, Breiner M A
Bryan Memorial Hospital, Lincoln, Nebraska.
J Heart Transplant. 1988 Sep-Oct;7(5):377-9.
A patient with end-stage heart disease was discharged from the hospital on postoperative day 7 after orthotopic heart transplantation. Three weeks from the day of operation, he developed sigmoid colon perforation, which required Hartmann's procedure, and 2 weeks later he had cecal disruption. A pathologic specimen showed underlying diverticular disease with associated cytomegalovirus colitis. Subsequently, the patient had multiple complications. Three months after colon perforation, the patient left the hospital, and now 1 year after transplantation he continues to do well. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a patient who survived multiple colon perforations soon after heart transplantation.
