Arabía, Francisco A.

Objective Patients in acute cardiogenic shock are the most challenging patients to manage. Unless a mechanical circulatory assist device is placed, maintaining end-organ function can be difficult. Transporting cardiogenic shock patients to tertiary care centers for higher level care also is difficult. The Mayo Clinic Arizona uses a SWAT team approach to deploy a specialized medical or surgical multidisciplinary team to implant mechanical circulatory assist devices at referring hospitals and transport patients back to Mayo Clinic Arizona. Results The cardiac transport team at Mayo Clinic Arizona got 23 referrals from 15 local community hospitals from February 2006 to September 2009. The medical team deployed for transfers of 6 patients, 3 of whom survived to hospital discharge. The surgical transport team deployed for transfers of 17 patients (6 with left ventricular assist devices, 2 with right ventricular assist devices, 5 with biventricular assist devices, and 4 with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), of whom 8 survived to hospital discharge. Ten of the 17 referrals (59%) required a surgeon to place a mechanical circulatory assist device at the referring hospital. Conclusion The SWAT team approach allows cardiogenic shock patients to be stabilized at the referring hospital by heart failure and cardiac surgical specialists. If necessary, a surgeon from Mayo Clinic Arizona places a mechanical circulatory assist device at the referring hospital to stabilize the patient. Doing so allows safe transport back to the tertiary care center for higher level care and possible transplant evaluation with placement of a long-term durable device.

Objectives. Increasing number of mechanical circulatory assist devices (MCADs) are being placed in heart failure patients. Morbidity from device placement is high and the outcome of patients who require noncardiac surgery after, is unclear. As laparoscopic interventions are associated with decreased morbidity, we examined the impact of such procedures in these patients. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted on 302 patients who underwent MCAD placement from 2005 to 2012. All laparoscopic abdominal surgeries were included and impact on postoperative morbidity and mortality studied. Results. Ten out of 16 procedures were laparoscopic with 1 conversion to open. Seven patients had a HeartMate II, 2 had Total Artificial Hearts, and 1 had CentriMag. Four patients had devices for ischemic cardiomyopathy and 6 cases were emergent. Surgeries included 6 laparoscopic cholecystectomies, 2 exploratory laparoscopies, 1 laparoscopic colostomy takedown, and 1 laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with mesh. Median age of the patients was 63 years (range, 29-79 years). Median operative time was 123 minutes (range, 30-380 minutes). Five of 10 patients were on preoperative anticoagulation with average intraoperative blood loss of 150 mL (range, 20-700 mL). There were 3 postoperative complications; acute respiratory failure, acute kidney injury and multisystem organ failure resulting in death not related to the surgical procedure. Conclusion. The need for noncardiac surgery in post-MCAD patients is increasing due to limited donors and due to more durable and longer support from newer generation assist devices. While surgery should be approached with caution in this high-risk group, laparoscopic surgery appears to be a safe and successful treatment option.

Objective The portable Freedom Drive (SynCardia Inc, Tucson, AZ USA) for total artificial heart (TAH-t) support was approved for an investigational device exemption study in March 2010. We review our center's experience with the portable driver. Methods A retrospective review was conducted of patients who underwent TAH-t implantation and transfer to portable driver from September 2008 to June 2012, with follow-up through December 2012. Results A total of 30 patients underwent TAH-t implantation during this time period, with 11 patients successfully transferred to the Freedom Driver. Transfer to Freedom Driver after TAH-t implant was a median of 46 days (range, 225–86 days). Ninety-one percent (10) of 11 patients transferred to Freedom Driver were bridged to transplantation. One patient died on support. Five (45.5%) of 11 patients were discharged home and 5 (45.5%) remained in-patient on the portable driver before transplantation. Four patients (80%) successfully discharged home required at least 1 hospital readmission (range, 1–5 admissions per patient). Six patients (55%) transferred to the portable driver required a return to a main driver console. Two patients were temporarily maintained on the main driver then returned to the Freedom Driver for bridge to transplantation. Conclusions Patients with TAH-t can be considered for transfer to the portable Freedom Driver while awaiting transplantation. Issues that complicated this patient population included inadequate social support, hemodynamic instability, and concurrent morbidities. The potential benefits of the portable driver are currently undergoing assessment. These may include increased mobility and improved quality of life, opportunity for discharge home, and decreased overall medical costs.

AbstractCardiac allograft rejection and failure may require mechanical circulatory support as bridge‐to‐retransplantation. Prognosis in this patient group is poor and implantable ventricular assist devices have had limited success due to organ failure associated with the high dose immunosuppression required to treat ongoing rejection. We present a case from our institution and the world‐wide experience utilizing the SynCardia CardioWest Total Artificial Heart (TAH‐t; SynCardia Systems, Inc., Tucson, AZ, USA) for replacement of the failing graft, recovery of patient and end‐organ failure with ultimate bridge to retransplantation. We present our experience and review of world‐wide experience for use of TAH‐t in this type patient.

ABSTRACTWe describe a thymidine-dependent small-colony variant ofStaphylococcus aureusassociated with left ventricular assist device infection and prosthetic valve and pacemaker endocarditis.

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) (humoral rejection) of cardiac allografts remains difficult to diagnose and treat. Interest in AMR of cardiac allografts has increased over the last decade as it has become apparent that untreated humoral rejection threatens graft and patient survival. An international and multidisciplinary consensus group has formulated guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of AMR and established that identification of circulating or donor-specific antibodies is not required and that asymptomatic AMR, that is, biopsy-proven AMR without cardiac dysfunction is a real entity with worsened prognosis. Strict criteria for the diagnosis of cardiac AMR have not been firmly established, although the diagnosis relies heavily on tissue pathological findings. Therapy remains largely empirical. We review an unfortunate experience with one of our patients and summarize recommended criteria for the diagnosis of AMR and potential treatment schemes with a focus on current limitations and the need for future research and innovation.

Interaction between the electrical system of implanted cardiovascular devices and electrical stimulation of acupuncture points (electro-acupuncture) can be life-threatening. As a result, there is reluctance to use this modality in patients who have been implanted with any cardiac device. A patient with a total artificial heart was successfully treated with electro-acupuncture for inflammatory arthritis without any adverse events. This case illustrates the safety of electro-acupuncture in patients with a total artificial heart.