Cited 7 times since 2019 (1.6 per year) source: EuropePMC Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation, Volume 27, Issue 12, 1 1 2019, Pages 590-593 Ventricular assist device implantation in patients with a failing systemic right ventricle: a call to expand current practice. Zandstra TE, Palmen M, Hazekamp MG, Meyns B, Beeres SLMA, Holman ER, Kiès P, Jongbloed MRM, Vliegen HW, Egorova AD, Schalij MJ, Tops LF
Ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation is an established treatment modality for patients with end-stage heart failure, and improves symptoms and survival. In the Netherlands, it is not yet routinely considered in patients with congenital heart disease and failing systemic right ventricle (SRV). Recently, a VAD was implanted in 2 SRV patients, one who underwent a Mustard procedure during infancy for transposition of the great arteries (male, 47 years old) and one with a congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (male, 54 years old). The first patient is doing well >1 year after implantation; the second patient will be discharged home soon. These examples and other reports demonstrate the feasibility of adopting VAD implantation into routine care for SRV failure. In conclusion, patients with SRV failure may be suitable candidates for VAD implantation: they are relatively young, usually have a preserved subpulmonary left ventricular function, and their specific anatomical and physiological characteristics often make them unsuitable for cardiac transplantation. Therefore it is important to recognise the possibility of VAD implantation early in the process of SRV failure, and to timely refer these patients to a heart failure clinic with experience in VAD implantation in this group of patients for optimisation, screening, and implantation.
