Partial heart transplantation: Current applications and management

Table 1 Common indications for partial heart transplantation by position

Aortic position	Pulmonary position
Truncus arteriosus with irreparable truncal valve[6]	Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary stenosis/atresia or absent pulmonary valve[7,14]
Critical aortic stenosis[7]	Living Ross procedure[16]
Bicuspid aortic valve with stenosis/insufficiency[14]	Pulmonary valve dysplasia[14]
Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction[7]	Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction requiring valved conduit[7]

Published recommended indications for partial heart transplantation in aortic and pulmonary outflow tracts, divided by specific indication or disease.

Table 2 Immunosuppression for partial heart transplantation[14]

	Aortic position	Pulmonary position
Intraoperative immunosuppression	Yes	Yes
Postoperative steroids	Yes	No
Mycophenolate	1 year	4-8 weeks
Tacrolimus	Indefinitely	Indefinitely

Institutional immunosuppression protocol reported by Overbey et al[14] for immunosuppression divided by implanted valve position.

Table 3 Reported partial heart transplantation patient cohorts

Ref.	Number of patients	Center	Patient ages (years)	Root position	Follow-up duration reported	Clinical outcomes reported	Reoperation (%)	Potential cohort overlap	Adverse events
Wacker et al[16], 2026	1	Geneva University Hospitals	12	Aortic and pulmonary	Not reported	Valve function	0	No	None reported
Kesseli et al[18], 2025	1	Duke University	3	Pulmonary	12 days	Valve function	0	Yes (Turek et al[6])	Headache due to tacrolimus
Turek et al[6], 2024	1	Duke University	0	Aortic and pulmonary	1 year	Valve function and growth	0	Yes (Kesseli et al[18], Overbey et al[14])	None reported
Kalfa et al[13], 2025	2	Columbia University	0-3	Aortic and pulmonary	15-17 months	Valve function and growth, immunosensitization	0	No	None reported
Overbey et al[14], 2025	19	Duke University	0-adult (oldest in 30-35 years old age range)	Aortic and pulmonary	11-154 weeks	Valve function and growth	10.50	Yes (Turek et al[6])	Infection, postoperative arrhythmia, reoperation kidney injury

Published case reports, case series, and cohort study include short-term follow-up and information on clinical outcomes and adverse effects. There were no reported deaths in any of the above cohorts.