Myocardial functional recovery following durable ventricular assist device in children

Ventricular assist device (VAD) explantation following myocardial functional recovery (MFR) for heart failure (HF) is uncommon in children and is associated with a risk of HF recurrence.

Retrospective, single-center study of pediatric patients who were supported with durable VADs, both intracorporeal continuous flow devices (CFD) and paracorporeal pulsatile flow devices (PFD), between 2004 and 2022.

A total of 74 children, of which 43 were female, underwent VAD implantation (PFD = 61 and CFD = 14) at a median (interquartile range) age of 5.6 (0.8, 13.5) years and with a weight of 16.2 (7.5, 40.7) kg. From this cohort, we identified 9 of 75 (12%) children who underwent VAD explantation for MFR. Of those, 7 of 9 (77%) were under 2 years of age and 6 of 9 (67%) were supported for >90 days. Five patients had dilated cardiomyopathy, 3 with anomalous left coronary artery from pulmonary artery and 1 with tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Six were listed for transplantation as a part of their HF management strategy following VAD implantation. After explant, 8 of 9 patients remained in HF remission with no symptoms and stable left ventricular function. One patient had a recurrence of HF following explantation after demonstrating MFR while on VAD support.

MFR resulting in VAD explantation is feasible in children with chronic HF especially for those <2 years of age. Further work is needed to better identify the features that promote MFR and maintain it after explant.