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Christof Schmid
Hans H. Scheld
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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;132:210-211
© 2006 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Letter to the Editor

Reply to the Editor:

Markus J. Wilhelm, MD, Christof Schmid, MD, Hans H. Scheld, MD

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support was originally used to bridge high risk patients to heart transplantation. 1 Go After increased experience with this therapy showed that the failing native heart may have the potential to recover, LVAD therapy provided the option of weaning selected patients from mechanical support as an alternative to transplantation. 2 Go As technology made further progress, the duration of support has increased markedly and paved the way for destination therapy.

Device selection, however, in particular for long-term support, still remains an unresolved question. Most centers have experience with one or two types of devices. Devices are selected on the basis of personal experience. As long as people are satisfied with the devices they are using, they do not see a reason to change to other systems. Only centers that handle large numbers of patients use a variety of devices, which offers them the opportunity to compare systems. Prospective randomized studies to evaluate different devices for different indications have not yet been performed.

It is of foremost importance that LVADs meet the . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2006 132: 210. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]





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