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Diagnosis and management of left ventricular assist device valve-endocarditis: LVAD valve replacement
K C de Jonge1, H R Laube, P M Dohmen
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Nuclear Medicine, Charité, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. koen.de_jonge@charite.de
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|November 18, 2000
Abstract:
A 57-year-old man who has been wearing a Novacor N100 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for more than 3 years suffered from LVAD endocarditis. Only by immunoscintigraphic methods was it possible to localize the septic focus. After successful exchange of in- and outflow tract valves, the infection was eradicated. Microscopic investigation confirmed the scintigraphic findings: Gram-positive bacteria were found. The valves showed no gross degenerative lesions after more than 1,100 days of implantation. The patient is now doing well.