Japanese Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery  2016;45(6):267-271

doi:10.4326/jjcvs.45.267

Implantation of HeartMate II as a Bridge to Bridge from Biventricular Support

Tomoki Sakata ; Hiroki Kohno ; Michiko Watanabe ; Yusaku Tamura ; Shinichiro Abe ; Yuichi Inage ; Hideki Ueda ; Goro Matsumiya

Keywords

ventricular assist device; dilated cardiomyopathy; biventricular support

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese

Abstract

A 27-year-old man who presented with worsening dyspnea was transferred to our hospital due to congestive heart failure with multiple organ dysfunction. Echocardiogram showed severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction and a huge thrombus in the left ventricle. An urgent operation was performed to remove the thrombus simultaneously with the placement of bilateral extracorporeal ventricular assist devices. After the operation, despite a rapid improvement in the liver function, renal dysfunction persisted and he remained anuric for nearly a month. We continued maximal circulatory support with biventricular assist device to optimize his end-organ function. His renal function gradually improved, allowing him to be registered as a heart transplant candidate on the 140th postoperative day. On the 146th postoperative day, the patient underwent successful removal of the right ventricular assist device, and the left extracorporeal device was replaced by an implantable device (HeartMate II). He was discharged 78 days after the implantation. We present here a case where adequate support with biventricular assist device enabled a successful bridge to transplantation even in a patient with end-stage heart failure having end-organ dysfunction.