Implantation of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator in the heart transplant candidate

Because the major cause of death in patients awaiting heart transplantation results from out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, the use of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator has been proposed as a bridge to transplantation. To provide a safe and simple implantation procedure that also easily allows access to cardiopulmonary bypass at the time of transplantation, a modified subxiphoid approach is reported.