Erschienen in:
01.06.2014 | Case Report
Conversion from long-term AB-5000 to EVAHEART using a combined left thoracotomy and sternotomy approach
verfasst von:
Masatoshi Akiyama, Naotaka Motoyoshi, Shunsuke Kawamoto, Satoshi Saito, Kenji Yamazaki, Yoshikatsu Saiki
Erschienen in:
Journal of Artificial Organs
|
Ausgabe 2/2014
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Abstract
Because of the extreme donor shortage in Japan, waiting times for heart transplantation exceed 2 years. Since 1980s in Japan, device availability has also been an issue, with only a few paracorporeal ventricular assist devices (VADs) available as a bridge to transplantation or recovery. However, two implantable VADs became commercially available in 2011. Given these constraints in our healthcare system, we report a relatively rare case of bridge-to-bridge use of an implanted EVAHEART after having used a paracorporeal AB-5000 support for an extended period of time. We successfully employed a combined left thoracotomy and median sternotomy approach as a conversion technique.