The Alfred's surgeons, led by Professor Don Esmore, took five hours to replace Greg Malouf's ailing donor heart, reports Amanda Dunn.
A flair for fine cooking runs in Greg Malouf's family. The renowned Melbourne chef has had plenty of opportunity to sample the family's culinary talents over the past few weeks because he has been forced to take a break from the kitchen.
Mr Malouf, 44, has become the second person in Victoria to receive a second heart transplant. In a five-hour operation at the Alfred, a team led by Don Esmore - who also did Mr Malouf's first heart transplant 14 years ago - gave him another chance to live a full life.
Professor Esmore said a retransplant was required because the first donor heart had failed due to chronic rejection. Retransplantation was similar to the first operation, Professor Esmore said, but was technically more difficult.
Mr Malouf's cardiologist Meroula Richardson said one of the biggest problems for prospective heart recipients was the waiting list. There were many more people in need of a transplant than donor hearts available, she said, which meant that people waited an average of nine months, and up to 20 per cent died while on the list.
Since the Alfred began heart transplants in 1989, 420 people have received hearts.
Professor Esmore said the survival rate was 52 per cent, compared with about 36 per cent worldwide.
For Mr Malouf, the warning signs with his donor heart began about two years ago, when he started to feel the familiar symptoms of shortness of breath and tiredness, and his cholesterol reading shot up.
He was put on the list for a new heart, and then had to wait. After 14 months, the good news came through, and the procedure was performed.
Mr Malouf believed his heart problems had two central causes. The first was familial - both his parents have had heart disease, as has his brother.
The second cause was lifestyle. Chefs were notorious for bad eating habits, Mr Malouf said, picking at food all day.
For now, Mr Malouf has made an excellent recovery: he spent two weeks in hospital and has begun his follow-up physiotherapy and monthly biopsies.
Over the next few months, he will get back to work, devising new dishes for his restaurant, and will look at ways to encourage more Australians to become organ donors.