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Insertion, Maintenance, and Removal of the Percutaneous Dual Lumen Cannula Right Ventricular Assist Device
Published on: July 20, 2022
Cesarean delivery in a parturient with a left ventricular assist device
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
Left ventricular assist devices are implanted pumps designed to treat patients with heart failure, and in some cases, to be a bridge to transplantation for patients who qualify. The preconception presence of a left ventricular assist device is a relative contraindication to pregnancy. Few cases have been published regarding the anesthetic management of parturients with left ventricular assist devices. We present the care of a 24-year-old gravida seven, para two woman who presented for induction of labor at gestational age 34 and 6/7 weeks. Her medical history was significant for the presence of a left ventricular assist device, inserted due to heart failure associated with polysubstance abuse. To our knowledge, this is the first description of successful cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia of a parturient with a left ventricular assist device.
Left ventricular assist devices are implanted pumps designed to treat patients with heart failure, and in some cases, to be a bridge to transplantation for patients who qualify. The preconception presence of a left ventricular assist device is a relative contraindication to pregnancy. Few cases have been published regarding the anesthetic management of parturients with left ventricular assist devices. We present the care of a 24-year-old gravida seven, para two woman who presented for induction of labor at gestational age 34 and 6/7 weeks. Her medical history was significant for the presence of a left ventricular assist device, inserted due to heart failure associated with polysubstance abuse. To our knowledge, this is the first description of successful cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia of a parturient with a left ventricular assist device.
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