Systemic Thrombolysis Versus Device Exchange for Pump Thrombosis Management: A Single-Center Experience.

In patients with left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implants, pump thrombosis is a potential life-threatening complication. In a retrospective data analysis, we compared clinical outcomes in 50 patients with HeartWare (HW) or HeartMate II implants undergoing device exchange (DEx; n = 21) or systemic thrombolysis (STL; n = 29) for pump thrombosis. Primary end-point was survival up to 90 days postintervention.

Prolonged transcutaneous cardiopulmonary support for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock.

Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support can be set up quickly at the bedside and provides reliable temporary mechanical circulatory support for cardiogenic shock patients. This report includes the case of a woman, age 56 years, with postoperative cardiogenic shock due to right heart failure, secondary to severe pulmonary hypertension, after mitral and tricuspid valve replacement. This was accomplished by the use of femoro-femoral Levitronix Centrimag centrifugal pump with membrane oxygenator.

Preliminary experience with the LionHeart left ventricular assist device in patients with end-stage heart failure.

Background: The Arrow LionHeart LVD 2000 left ventricular assist device is the first fully implantable system designed for destination therapy. We report on 2 years of experience with this device, which we implanted for the first time in October 1999.

Methods: Since October 1999, 6 male patients between 55 and 69 years of age (mean 65 +/- 6 years) have received the device at our center; all were in New York Heart Association functional class IV and ineligible for heart transplantation.