How an undiscovered extensive peripheral pulmonary venous thrombosis destroyed a heart transplant: a case report.

This report details a recent experience with a 56-year-old man affected by an incompetent mitral valve due to Barlow's disease. The patient underwent a mitral valve repair and extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) assistance due to postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock. During the ECMO assistance he experienced a left atrial thrombosis. A few days later, being unaware of the pulmonary vein thrombosis, we transplanted the patient, who ultimately died due to multiorgan failure and coagulopathy. This article highlights both the vain experience with ECMO and the uselessness of heart transplant, to avoid in the future an irresponsible waste of donor organs, as occurred in the current case. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Inc.