title: Berlin heart as a bridge to recovery for a failing Fontan.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. mcard001@umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Marcelo G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cardarelli
authors.forename: Mubbada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salim
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Love
authors.forename: Shari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Simone
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tumulty
authors.forename: Dyana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.forename: Bartley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Griffith
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D018729:Fontan Procedure; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017211:Treatment Failure