[Infant and pediatric heart transplantation: Loma Linda experience].

One hundred and six infant and pediatric recipients underwent 108 heart transplantation from November 1985 to December 1990 in Loma Linda University Medical Center. Forty-seven recipients were under one month of age at the time of transplantation, 46 from one month to 2 years and 15 over two years. Seventy recipients underwent heart transplantation under the diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome or the diseases equal to hypoplastic left heart syndrome, seventeen for complex congenital heart disease, sixteen for cardiomyopathy, and five for other reasons. Early mortality was 13% and late mortality was 11% for all cases. Early mortality for the infants under one month of age was 13% and late mortality was 8%. Heart transplantation was considered to be the treatment for choice for the patient with otherwise fatal cardiac diseases.