Physician’s Doubts On Heart Transplants

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31676, 11 May 1968, Page 14

Physician’s Doubts On Heart Transplants

More enthusiasm for kidney transplants than heart transplants was expressed by an eminent British physican. Sir Max Rosenheim, in Christchurch yesterday. “My approach to heart transplants is one of caution," he said.

The main problem still was knowing whether the body would reject the new heart, and immuno . suppresssive drugs had to be used. Where there was severe coronary disease there was also usually serious arterial disease as well, and he doubted whether putting a new heart into an old body was the answer. Sir Max Rosenheim said it was rather like putting new wine into old bottles. His particular field is kid-

ney disease and hypertension, and with kidney transplants he is more optimistic. More younger people suffered renal failure than died from heart failure, he said, and as well as being able to prolong the life of young patients sur-

geons could get them in a fit condition before making a transplant. Six Max Rosenheim is president of the Royal College of Physicians, London, and is professor of medicine at University College Hospital, London. He is spending a few days in New Zealand before going to Sydney to attend a meeting of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Last in New Zealand 10 years ago, Sir Max Rosenheim said his impression was that this country was generally keeping up with the tremendous development in medicine over the last few years. He said it was doing well with renal transplants with a national programme centred on Auckland.

Asked about the importance of a medical school to New Zealand, he said it was vitally important and he agreed with Professor R. V. Christie, who had emphasised the need to keep pace with modern developments in his recent report on the school.