Clinical Experience with Percutaneous Left Ventricular Support Using Transseptal Left Atrial — Femoral Artery Bypass

Abstract

Mechanical ventricular assists with bypass pumps have been used with increasing frequency for the treatment of severe heart failure following cardiac surgery or acute myocardial infarction. In the conventional method, the approach requires thoracotomy or some other invasive procedures. Intraaortic balloon pumps and percutaneous cardiopulmonary supports are also widely used; however, these devices have a limitation in unloading the left ventricle in severe left heart failure. If a percutaneous left ventricular assist device is possible, such a left ventricular assist system may have a role to play in the increased demand for circulatory support of patients with severe left heart failure who are unresponsive to conventional treatment. We developed a new percutaneous drainage cannula from the left atrium for a percutaneous left ventricular support (PLVS) system; here we describe our initial clinical experience with this PLVS.