HeartMate 3 Explantation Using Felt Plug for Ventriculotomy Occlusion.

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) can be utilized for heart failure patients as a bridge to transplant, bridge to destination, or bridge to recovery. Given the lack of a universally accepted consensus for assessing myocardial recovery, techniques and strategies in LVAD explantation also vary. In addition, the incidence of LVAD explantation remains relatively low, and surgical techniques of explantation continue to be areas of interest. Our approach using a felt-plug Dacron technique is an effective way to preserve left ventricular geometry and cardiac function.

Active infective endocarditis of both aortic and pulmonic valves in association with ventricular septal defect treated with double valve replacement and closure of the defect.

Described herein is a 29-year-old man with a ventricular septal defect who developed active infective endocarditis on both his pulmonic and aortic valves. We found only six previously reported cases partially similar to ours.

Impact of symptom-guided, progressive cardiac rehabilitation after left ventricular assist device implantation.

A 29-year-old woman with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) completed a progressive, symptom-limited cardiac rehabilitation program consisting of boxing, weight-lifting, and aerobic exercise, where she improved her exercise capacity by 2.7 metabolic equivalents (P < 0.001) and demonstrated significant myocardial recovery, allowing for successful LVAD explant 9 months after implantation.

Management of Adults With Normally Functioning Congenitally Bicuspid Aortic Valves and Dilated Ascending Aortas.

We describe herein a 65-year-old woman who underwent resection of a dilated (5.1 cm) ascending aorta associated with a normally functioning congenitally bicuspid aortic valve. The patient provided the framework to discuss proper management-operative versus nonoperative-of the dilated ascending aorta associated with a normally functioning bicuspid aortic valve. Unfortunately, there is inadequate data to provide an unequivocal answer to this dilemma. Operative intervention requires that the short-term risk of the prophylactic procedure be considerably lower than the long-term risk of aortic dissection/rupture without operative intervention. Because there is no proof that operative intervention provides less morbidity and lower mortality, nonoperative management at this time seems to be the better approach.