Percutaneous approach to left ventricular assist device decommissioning.

Objective: To assess the outcomes of a single-center experience with percutaneous left ventricular assist device (LVAD) decommissioning.

Background: Patients with LVADs may eventually require their removal, either due to recovery of left ventricular function or recurrent complications. Traditionally, withdrawal of LVAD support has been managed with surgical device explantation, which carries significant procedural risks.

An interventional approach to left ventricular assist device outflow graft obstruction.

Background: LVADs provide life-sustaining treatment for patients with heart failure, but their complexity allows for complications. One complication, LVAD outflow graft obstruction, may be misdiagnosed as intraluminal thrombus, when more often it is extraluminal compression from biodebris accumulation. It can often be treated endovascularly with stenting.