After Recent Deaths, Historic Texas Heart Transplant Center Suspends Program
The Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston suspended service for 14 days, citing a need to examine how to move ahead following the latest deaths and the loss of key surgeons.
ProPublica:
St. Luke’s To Suspend Heart Transplants After Recent Deaths
Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston temporarily suspended its renowned heart transplant program on Friday following two deaths in recent weeks, saying it needs to reassess what went wrong and determine the path forward. The decision to put the program on a 14-day inactive status — meaning it will turn away all donor hearts during that time — came about two weeks after ProPublica and the Houston Chronicle reported that in recent years the program has performed an outsized number of transplants resulting in deaths and lost several top physicians. (Ornstein and Hixenbaugh, 6/1)
The Associated Press:
Renowned Texas Heart Transplant Program Suspends Operations
"Although extensive reviews are conducted on each unsuccessful transplant, the recent patient outcomes deserve an in-depth review before we move forward with the program," Doug Lawson, CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives Texas Division, which owns St. Luke's, said in a statement. "Our prayers are with the families, as well as all those on the waiting list." (6/2)
Houston Chronicle:
St. Luke’s In Houston To Suspend Heart Transplants After Recent Deaths
For weeks, officials at St. Luke's and its affiliated Baylor College of Medicine have defended the program, saying they had made improvements after a string of patient deaths in 2015. Officials said the program's one-year survival rate after heart transplants had reached 94 percent in 2016 and 2017. But in recent months, more patients have died. James "Lee" Lewis, a 52-year-old pipefitter from Bay City, died on March 23, nearly three months after operating room equipment malfunctioned during a key stage of his transplant surgery. Another patient, a 67-year-old bankruptcy lawyer named Robert Barron, died on May 5, three months after his transplant. A third patient died in recent weeks, prompting the hospital's decision Friday. (Hixenbaugh and Ornstein, 6/1)
