Heart Transplantation in a Patient Without a Heart: A Case Report

We report a heart transplantation in a patient with no heart. A 60-year-old man suffered from severe infective endocarditis, and due to extensive involvement of the myocardium, only minimal myocardium was left after debridement of the necrotic myocardium and aortic annulus. We finally excised the entire heart to eradicate the infection source and employed 2 extracorporeal membrane oxygenations for full life support. The infection was controlled with strong antibiotics. The patient underwent successful heart transplantation 16 days following the excision and the patient fully recovered without any complications. •A patient survived under full ECMO support for 16 days without a heart.•For infective endocarditis patients, successful heart transplantation can be achieved after full control of infection.•ECMO-only support may be a useful practice in patients without a heart for a successful bridge to transplantation.