Surgical technique of heart transplantation: standard procedure or is there room for further development

Transplant surgery itself is the central point of organ transplantation. Starting with Christian Barnard’s first heart transplantation in 1967, several experimental procedures and research efforts have finally led to implementation of a standard technique: orthotopic heart transplantation according to Lower and Shumway. The present contribution is discussing the question whether modifications of this standard technique can be developed and implemented into clinical routine procedures. Another focus of this contribution is on the question whether there have been any improvements with respect to organ conservation and organ transport.