First use of the Cancion cardiac recovery system in a human

Animal studies have shown clearly that a peripheral circulatory support system can effectively unload the left ventricle. We report here the first implantation of one such system (Cancion, Orqis Medical, Lake Forest, CA) in a human. The Cancion system consists of a centrifugal pump connected to the circulation via a graft cannula anastomosed to the left axillary artery and a percutaneous cannula placed into the left common femoral artery. Flow is initiated from the femoral to the axillary artery. The system was implanted in a 62-year-old man with ischemic cardiomyopathy suffering from decompensation whose condition had not improved with catecholamine therapy. The Cancion system supported the patient for 3 days, after which it was electively explanted. During the support period, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure dramatically decreased from 28 to 9 mm Hg, left ventricular diastolic dimension decreased from 6.78 to 6.16 cm, creatinine levels decreased from 1.9 to 0.9 mg/dl, cardiac index improved from 1.5 to 2.7 L/min, and ejection fraction improved from 25 to 35%. Together, our data indicate that the Cancion system quickly and effectively improved the patient's hemodynamics. This suggests that the device may one day become a short-term alternative to high dose inotrope therapy and that its application may delay the need for more invasive forms of mechanical circulatory support.