Why do heart transplants work, even though nerves are hard to reconnect?

Question

If they can't do hand transplants because of the difficulty of connecting nerves, why can they do heart and lung transplants?

Answer 1

The heart has automaticity - it beats on its own without input from the nervous system. That means a lot of drugs that we use to influence heartbeat will not work on a heart tranplant patient. The only drugs that WILL work are those that act directly on the heart muscle.

Lungs do not need neural input either. Breathing is controlled by the diaphragm, which had its own neural supply (the phrenic nerves).

Good question!

Answer 2

They don't have ennervation. If hearts slow down too much, it's common to use atropine to decrease vagal tone and get the heart rate up. It's not at all unheard of for doctors to try to do that, out of habit, in transplant patients, only to realize a minute later they're being a little dense.

Answer 3

Hi. The control nerves in a hand are called sonomic, meaning you can command them. The heart and lungs are controlled by autonomic nerves. I think they are simpler in their action and more likely to connect. Just my opinion.