doiSerbia

Successful surgical treatment of terminal heart failure in an adolescent - left ventricular assist device implantation and subsequent heart transplantation

Putnik Svetozar (School of Medicine, Belgrade + Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for cardiac surgery, Belgrade)
Terzić Duško (Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for cardiac surgery, Belgrade)
Nestorović Emilija (Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for cardiac surgery, Belgrade)
Marković Dejan (School of Medicine, Belgrade + Clinical Center of Serbia, Center for Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Belgrade)
Ristić Miljko (School of Medicine, Belgrade + Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for cardiac surgery, Belgrade)

Introduction. Implantation of the new-generation left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is an efficient therapeutic option as a bridge to transplantation in adults, as well as in children and adolescents with small body surface. The aim of this work was to present a case of a successful surgical treatment of terminal heart failure in a male adolescent who had an LVAD implanted as a bridge to heart transplantation. Case outline. The patient, a 17-year-old male, was admitted with the end-stage heart failure due to the dilated cardiomyopathy and implanted LVAD. Fourteen months after LVAD implantation, a successful “second stage” surgical procedure was performed – orthotopic heart transplantation preceded by the LVAD explantation. Conclusion. Long-term mechanical circulatory support is an effective and safe method in treatment of the end-stage heart failure as a bridge to transplantation in the adolescent period.

Keywords: heart failure, heart transplant, left ventricular assist device, adolescents