[A successful circulatory assist in acute left heart failure after a rapid two-stage arterial switch operation]

A 6-month-old female with transposition of the great arteries with intact ventricular septum successfully survived with the aid of a circulatory assist device for acute left heart failure after rapid two stage-arterial switch operation (ASO). The interval between pulmonary artery banding and ASO was 9 days. Left heart failure appeared immediately after ASO, so we started the circulatory assist with a centrifugal pump. The left ventricular function gradually recovered. After 43 hours assisted circulation, she was successfully weaned from the pump. Subsequent recovery was uneventful and the patient was discharged from the hospital on the 40th postoperative day. In case of acute left heart failure after ASO due to sudden changes in the left ventricular afterload, adaptation of the left ventricle can be expected by a relatively short period of circulatory assist with centrifugal pump.