First clinical application of the DuraHeart centrifugal ventricular assist device for a Japanese patient.
The DuraHeart ventricular assist device (VAD) is a third-generation implantable centrifugal pump with a magnetically levitated impeller. Since February 2007, the device has been clinically applied with excellent results as a bridge to heart transplantation in Europe. As of this writing, however, the device has yet to be approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for clinical use in Japan. We herein report the first clinical application of this device for a Japanese patient. A 31-year-old man with dilated cardiomyopathy was transferred to the Heart and Diabetes Center NRW (HDZ-NRW) in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, where he was to await heart transplantation. The transfer was safely completed under management with low-dose dopamine. His condition gradually deteriorated at HDZ-NRW, and the DuraHeart left ventricular assist device was implanted for the left ventricle at 7 weeks after admission. Shortly thereafter, however, on POD 7, a Thoratec VAD had to be inserted on the right side due to refractory right heart failure. The right ventricular assist device could be explanted after a 3-month assist, and the patient is now waiting for heart transplantation at home in Germany.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. iyoshing@yahoo.co.jp
Isamu
I
Yoshitake
Aly
A
El-Banayosy
Masataka
M
Yoda
Mitsumasa
M
Hata
Akira
A
Sezai
Tetsuya
T
Niino
Shinji
S
Wakui
Reiner
R
Koerfer
Kazutomo
K
Minami
D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy*; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002498:Centrifugation; D020878:Device Removal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004867:Equipment Design; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014850:Waiting Lists
D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D004298:Dopamine