Successful long-term bridge to transplant in a 5-year-old boy with the EXCOR left ventricular assist device.
We report on a 5-year-old boy who presented with postcardiotomy failure after aortic valve replacement and had to undergo implantation of a Berlin Heart-Excor system since treatment with ECMO did not improve myocardial pump function. After a stormy postoperative course with delayed sternal closure after 9 days, the young boy finally recovered and could be fully mobilized. Until successful heart transplantation after a support interval of 77 days, he experienced no device-related infectious or thromboembolic complications.
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital, Münster, Germany.
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Etz
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Welp
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Tjan
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Krasemann
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Schmidt
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Scheld
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Schmid
D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000601:surgery; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation / Q000379:methods; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012086:Reoperation; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome