Human cardiac explantation and autotransplantation: application in a patient with a large cardiac pheochromocytoma

A rare paraganglioma of the chromaffin type, located intrapericardially, was removed from a 42-year-old man by autotransplantation of the heart. Although the results were unfavorable in this case, the technique of autotransplantation deserves consideration in resecting large tumors that encroach upon the heart. To our knowledge, this technique has not been previously used for surgical excision of cardiac tumors.