Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Aug 2018
Comparative StudyLeft ventricular assist device implantation with left lateral thoracotomy with anastomosis to the descending aorta.
Standard implantation of the HeartWare left ventricular assist system is performed using the full sternotomy approach. However, successful implantation of left ventricular assist devices in patients with a previous median sternotomy, especially in high-risk patients, remains challenging. Herein, we compared the HeartWare left ventricular assist system implantation by thoracotomy with anastomosis of the outflow graft to the descending aorta with the standard sternotomy approach. ⋯ In our single-centre experience, the lateral thoracotomy with outflow graft anastomosis to the descending aorta had similar early outcomes compared to the standard sternotomy.