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Biventricular cannulation for the Thoratec ventricular assist device
F A Arabía1, V Paramesh, B Toporoff
1Section of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Arizona Health Science Center, Tucson 85724-5071, USA.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|February 4, 1999
Summary
Directly cannulating the right ventricle improves Thoratec biventricular assist device performance. This technique maximizes right ventricular assist device filling and output for patients awaiting heart transplantation.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Medical Devices
- Cardiac Support
Background:
- The Thoratec biventricular assist device is a common bridge to heart transplantation.
- Current methods using right atrial cannulation for right ventricular support show suboptimal device filling and output compared to left ventricular support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a novel technique for direct right ventricular cannulation.
- To enhance the filling and output of the right ventricular assist device.
Main Methods:
- Surgical technique description for direct right ventricular cannulation.
- Comparison of right ventricular assist device performance metrics (filling and output) with standard right atrial cannulation versus direct right ventricular cannulation.
Main Results:
- Direct right ventricular cannulation maximizes right ventricular assist device filling.
- Direct right ventricular cannulation maximizes right ventricular assist device output.
- Improved device efficiency compared to right atrial cannulation.
Conclusions:
- Direct right ventricular cannulation is an effective method to optimize right ventricular assist device function.
- This technique offers a significant improvement for patients requiring right ventricular support.
- Enhancing RVAD performance is crucial for bridging patients to transplantation.