Baylor St. Luke's suspends heart transplant program for review after two patient deaths

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center is voluntarily suspending its heart transplant surgery program after two recent patient deaths.

Doug Lawson, CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives Texas Division, made the announcement Friday in a video posted to St. Luke's Facebook page.

Lawson said a thorough review of the cases and its heart transplant program is "in the best interest of our patients."

For the next 14 days, the program is being placed on inactive status. The heart transplant program will undergo assessment, in addition to the recruitment of additional surgical and clinical expertise, Lawson said.

The Baylor St. Luke's board of directors have formed a special committee to review the programs.