title: HeartMate vented-electric left ventricular assist system: technique for intrathoracic or intraperitoneal implantation via a left thoracotomy.
abstract: The HeartMate vented-electric left ventricular assist system (Thoratec Corp., Woburn, MA) has become widely accepted as a temporary bridge to transplantation. We describe a left thoracotomy technique in 3 patients for implanting this pump intrathoracically or intraperitoneally. In all 3 cases, long-term pump function was satisfactory. For HeartMate implantation, the left thoracotomy approach may be particularly useful when previous median sternotomies, coupled with the severe debilitation posed by chronic heart failure and hepatic dysfunction with resultant coagulopathy, would greatly increase the mortality and morbidity of a redo median sternotomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Heart Transplantation, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, Texas 77225-0345, USA. igregoric@heart.thi.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gregoric
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wadia
authors.forename: Branislav
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Radovancevic
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Messner
authors.forename: Tehreen
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: O H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Frazier
mesh_terms: D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D004867:Equipment Design; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity / Q000601:surgery*; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D035423:Thoracic Cavity / Q000601:surgery*; D013908:Thoracotomy