Norihide Fukushima

Kinran Senri University

Dr. Norihide Fukushima is the President of Senri Kinran University, Japan, a visiting director at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Japan, and a recruit professor in the Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Japan. After graduating from the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, he finished clinical training in the 1st Department of Surgery, Osaka University Hospital, and obtained his Ph.D. in Prolonged Cardiac Immersion storage in 1992. Dr. Fukushima worked at Loma Linda University, California, USA as a research and clinical fellow from 1991 to 1994. His team underwent the first heart transplantation in Japan in 1999. He and his colleagues made a revision to the Transplant Act in 2010 to increase deceased organ donation and heart transplantation in Japan.

1books edited

3chapters authored

Latest work with IntechOpen by Norihide Fukushima

Since the first heart transplantation was performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa in 1967, there has been steady progress in terms of recipient selection, donor selection and management, surgical technique, preoperative management, immunosuppression, mechanical circulatory support during waiting for heart transplantation, especially in the last two decades. This book presents recent information in the field of heart transplantation. It includes thirteen chapters that address such topics as novel immunosuppression therapy and the role of transplant pharmacists, donor management and intervention for primary graft failure, mechanical circulatory, diagnostic modalities for cardiac allograft vasculopathy, surgical techniques, pediatric heart transplantation, and gene therapy. We hope that readers will find this book a useful resource because of its summarization of relevant details and issues that will facilitate the acquisition of emerging new information in each area of heart transplantation.

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Heart Transplantation

Edited by Norihide Fukushima

Chapters authored

Challenge of Xenotransplantation in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

By Norihide Fukushima, Motohiro Kawauchi, Francois Bouchart, Sandra Nehlsen-Cannarella and Leonard L. Bailey

Although surgical techniques have progressively improved in the field of congenital heart disease (CHD), even such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome, pediatric heart transplantation is the most effective surgical option for complex CHD and cardiomyopathy with severe heart failure. However, even now, donor heart availability has been poor in children. Although technologies for ventricular assist device (VAD) have been progressing even in children, VAD cannot grow as the pediatric recipient grows. Therefore, pediatric cardiac xenotransplantation has a great possibility to save and grow children with end-stage heart failure. In this chapter, I would like to introduce the first pediatric baboon-to-human heart transplantation and its basic animal experiments done by Bailey’s group and the following attempts for pediatric cardiac orthotopic xenotransplantation (rhesus monkey-to-baboon and pig-to-primate combination).

Part of the book: Xenotransplantation

Sarcopenia in Patients with End-Stage Cardiac Failure Requiring Ventricular Assist Device or Heart Transplantation

By Norihide Fukushima

Sarcopenia has been defined as the age-related reduced skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical capacity and is frequently associated with serious complications in patients with heart failure (HF). However, when HF progressed to end-stage HF requiring advanced therapies, such as heart transplantation (HTx) and implantation of left ventricular assist device (LVAD), an even higher prevalence of sarcopenia has been reported in younger patients with end-stage HF than elderly patients with less advanced HF. Many literatures have reported that sarcopenia is greatly associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality after HTx and LVAD implantation. Therefore, therapeutic interventions to prevent and reverse sarcopenia, such as cardiac rehabilitation and nutrition supplementation, are important in patients with end-stage HF prior to HTx and LVAD implantation. Although moderate or severe sarcopenia is a contraindication for HTx, the patients who can recover from sarcopenia after LVAD implantation would be considered eligible for HTx. Then, therapeutic options to reverse sarcopenia in patients supported with LVAD are also important to improve patient prognosis after LVAD implantation. In this review, the impacts of sarcopenia on prognosis after LVAD implantation and HTx and vice versa were summarized and therapeutic interventions to reverse sarcopenia before and after LVAD implantation are discussed.

Part of the book: Frailty and Sarcopenia

Donor Assessment and Management for Heart Transplantation

By Norihide Fukushima

For many years, heart transplantation has been an established procedure for patients with end-stage heart failure using the so-called “Standard Criteria” for an optimal heart donor. However, annually listed patients for heart transplantation greatly increased worldwide, and the use of extended criteria donor hearts has been utilized as many as possible in many countries. In this chapter, firstly, pathophysiology of brain death is explained. Secondly, donor assessment and issues of extended criteria donors are introduced. Then, donor management to maximize the heart graft availability, and the Japanese donor assessment and evaluation system and its outcome are reviewed.

Part of the book: Heart Transplantation

Norihide Fukushima

Latest work with IntechOpen by Norihide Fukushima

Heart Transplantation

Chapters authored

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