Today heart transplantation is not as uncommon as it was in the past. Besides, with development in science the success rates are even higher, as so is the post-op survival and life expectancy. Today one can estimate a survival over twenty years post a paediatric heart transplantation surgery. Besides, more than 70% of the cases have survived beyond a minimum of five years.
Dilated cardiomyopathy, Mitral valve regurgitation, or hypertropic cardiomyopathy, cardiac neoplasms and congenital heart diseases are a few conditions where paediatric heart transplantation is indicated. For reasons not clear, the transplanted heart develops coronary heart disease in many cases, and therefore most children require re-transplantation at some point in their adult-hood. The life expectancy therefore varies and is dependent on various circumstances. Despite it still being an expensive option, yet, with breakthrough developments in operative procedures, today paediatric cardiac transplants are safer and successful than ever before, becoming a ray of hope in many high risk cardiac diseases.