Unconventional use of total artificial heart in a patient with severe, destructive prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Here, we report the case of a patient who presented to our institution with severe, destructive, and unreconstructable prosthetic valve endocarditis which required the planned implantation of a total artificial heart (TAH) to function as a bridge to cardiac transplantation. The use of TAH in this fashion has been infrequently reported in the literature. This case highlights the importance of a thoughtful, preoperative multidisciplinary approach to these complex patients to provide the most appropriate and life-saving care.