Laparoscopic cholecystectomy for a heart transplant candidate: A case report

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains the standard treatment for cholelithiasis. An increasing number of patients with numerous medical diseases are being treated with this technique. However, there is a surgical concern about its safety in patients with cardiac comorbidities. Cardiac arrest developed at 15 min pre-operative during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a patient with a diagnosis of advanced heart failure (EF: 15–20%), who was a heart transplant candidate, and CPR was started. Peripheral VA-ECMO was inserted in the patient who did not respond to conventional CPR and was transferred to the surgical intensive care unit with inotropic medication and VA-ECMO support. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was decided before the transplant because the patient’s complaints increased and there were immunosuppressives, anticoagulant drugs used after the heart transplant, and health problems with increased risk after the transplant.