Pulsecath® as a right ventricular assist device

Abstract

The pulsecath® is a pulsatile pump that offers a circulatory support up to 3 lymin. The pulsecath® is indicated for patients who requirea higher degree of support than that offered by the intra-aortic balloon pump. We describe the first two cases of the use of thepulsecath® as a temporary support for the right ventricle after insertion through the pulmonary artery trunk. Two patients developed anacute right ventricular failure with severe hemodynamic instability after cardiac surgery. The pulsecath® was chosen to assist the rightventricle. An immediate improvement of hemodynamic parameters was observed in both cases. In the first patient an irreversible metabolicunbalance, already present prior to pulsecath® insertion, led to multi-organ failure and eventually to death. In the second case the earlyutilization of pulsecath® led to a complete recovery of the right ventricle and the patient was discharged in good clinical condition.Besides the technical feasibility, this report would suggest that a correct timing is the key to success for the pulsecath® as a rightventricular assist device. © 2011 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.