Con: Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists Are Not Necessary for the Management of Patients With Ventricular Assist Devices Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery

ADVANCED HEART FAILURE is a major healthcare problem worldwide. For many patients who are severely symptomatic despite maximal medical and cardiac resynchronization therapy, assist device therapy is an option. Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) traditionally are used as a bridge to transplantation. Owing to the limitation of suitable donors, LVADs also are used as a bridge to decision, recovery, and destination therapy. More recently, LVAD implantation has been used as a bridge-to-candidacy therapy in patients believed to require dual heart –lung transplantation in order to evaluate if improved cardiac function can reverse pulmonary symptomatology adequately, thereby reassigning these individuals to heart-only transplant candidate status.
Source: Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Pro and ConSection Editor? > Source Type: research