CardioWest total artificial heart in a moribund adolescent with left ventricular thrombi.
Bridge to transplant is a well-known strategy to enable patients with congestive heart failure to live until transplant. A 15-year-old boy with Beckers' muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathy was accepted for heart transplantation. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenator. A paracorporeal biventricular assist device and a total artificial heart were considered for bridge to transplant. A CardioWest total artificial heart was chosen because of the patient's size. Multiple left ventricular thrombi were identified at the time of the ventriculectomy. The patient did well with the total artificial heart was transplanted and discharged home. The unknown presence of significant left ventricular thrombi raises the question of outcome with a paracorporeal ventricular assist device.
Smith
M Cristina
MC
University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, Tucson, Arizona 85724-5071, USA.
Arabía
Francisco A
FA
Tsau
Pei H
PH
Smith
Richard G
RG
Bose
Raj K
RK
Woolley
Daniel S
DS
Rhenman
Birger E
BE
Sethi
Gulshan K
GK
Copeland
Jack G
JG
D000293:Adolescent; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006354:Heart, Artificial; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000150:complications; D018579:Patient Selection; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome