title: Insights from continued use of a Novacor Left Ventricular Assist System for a period of 6 years.
abstract: We report a patient supported with the Novacor Left Ventricular Assist System for more than 6 years and chronicle his progress as an illustration of the clinical, practical, and emotional challenges of this therapy and the benefits of an intervention that can return a morbidly ill patient to an essentially normal lifestyle. This experience underlines the importance of patient selection, optimal timing of intervention, and the potential impact of psychologic issues on outcome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Verona Medical School, Verona, Italy. giuseppe.faggian@univr.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Faggian
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.forename: Peer M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Portner
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazzucco
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology