Left Ventricular Assist Device Outflow Graft Pseudoaneurysm Treated with Covered Balloon Expandable Stent.

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) outflow graft injury is a very rare complication after LVAD implantation and is usually treated surgically. This is a case report of successful stenting of the damaged outflow graft 2.5 years after LVAD implantation, followed by successful heart transplantation.

Initial 3-year outcomes with left ventricular assist devices in a country with a nascent heart transplantation program.

Aims: The need for the left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) in patients with end-stage heart failure is well established, but prior to 2011, this was not available to patients in Kazakhstan. We describe the development of the sole LVAD programme in the context of a nascent heart transplantation programme and clinical outcomes for the first three years.

Methods And Results: From November 2011 to November 2014, 146 patients underwent implantation of 152 VADs (approximately 50 devices implanted per year).

[Surgical heart failure treatment program - the experience of Kazakhstan].

In Kazakhstan, geographical and cultural reasons do not favor the development of heart transplant activity. Thus, a surgical program for treatment of advanced, refractory heart failure was implemented, focusing the efforts on ventricular assist device (VAD) therapy. The program, supported and funded by the national healthcare system, is based on a single, highly specialized surgical Center for the operation, and on a regional infrastructure for outpatient follow-up.