Placement of a continuous-flow ventricular assist device in the failing ventricle of an adult patient with complex cyanotic congenital heart disease.
For patients with end-stage heart failure and contraindications to transplantation, insertion of a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is an effective treatment strategy. We present a case of LVAD insertion in a 46-year-old man with cyanotic complex congenital heart disease and an extensive surgical history who presented with failure of his systemic ventricle. The insertion of an LVAD in our patient restored cardiac output and improved cyanosis and native ventricular function. As the number of patients with congenital heart defects surviving to adulthood increases, destination LVAD therapy may be increasingly considered as an alternative.
Morris
Cullen D
CD
Department of Cardiopulmonary Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support, Texas Heart Institute, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas 77225-0345, USA.
Gregoric
Igor D
ID
Cooley
Denton A
DA
Cohn
William E
WE
Loyalka
Pranav
P
Frazier
O H
OH
D003490:Cyanosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery*; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*