Abstract
We report a case in which the DuraHeart (Terumo Heart, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) was successfully removed despite a low ejection fraction. A 33-year-old man who suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy underwent implantation of the DuraHeart. The assist flow decreased to less than 1.0 l/min 3 months after the implantation. Echocardiography demonstrated a low left ventricular ejection fraction (26 %) and left ventricular dilatation (64 mm). Right heart catheterization revealed a cardiac index of 2.9 l/min/m2 with a DuraHeart flow of 0.7 l/min. The patient underwent DuraHeart explantation without cardiopulmonary bypass. He was stable at 10 months post-explant.
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Conflict of interest
Minoru Ono received a research funding from Terumo Corp. (Tokyo, Japan). Mitsutoshi Kimura, Takashi Nishimura, Koichiro Kinugawa and Shunei Kyo belong to Department of Therapeutic Strategy for Heart Failure, which is an endowed department sponsored by 13 companies including Terumo Corp. (Tokyo, Japan). The others have no conflict of interest.
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Kimura, M., Kinoshita, O., Nishimura, T. et al. Successful weaning from the DuraHeart with a low left ventricular ejection fraction. J Artif Organs 16, 504–507 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10047-013-0723-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10047-013-0723-3