Berlin heart as a bridge to recovery for a failing Fontan.
We report the temporary use of a Berlin Heart ventricular assist device (Berlin Heart AG, Berlin, Germany) for cardiac support of an 18-month-old girl with rapidly progressive ventricular failure after completion of a fenestrated Fontan. After 6 months of cardiac assistance with a single pneumatic pump, catheterization data showed improvement of the ventricular function and the ventricular assist device was successfully removed. A follow-up echocardiogram 6 months after hospital discharge demonstrated marked improvement of ventricular function.
Cardarelli
Marcelo G
MG
Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. mcard001@umaryland.edu
Salim
Mubbada
M
Love
Jon
J
Simone
Shari
S
Tumulty
Jamie
J
Conway
Dyana
D
Griffith
Bartley
B
D005260:Female; D018729:Fontan Procedure; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017211:Treatment Failure