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Left ventricular assist device implantation via left thoracotomy: alternative to repeat sternotomy
Richard N Pierson1, Renee Howser, Terri Donaldson
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-5734, USA. robin.pierson@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|March 20, 2002
Abstract:
Repeat sternotomy for left ventricular assist device insertion may result in injury to the right heart or patent coronary grafts, complicating intraoperative and postoperative management. In 4 critically ill patients, left thoracotomy was used as an alternative to repeat sternotomy. Anastomosis of the outflow conduit to the descending thoracic aorta provided satisfactory hemodynamic support.