Key result
Surgical LVAD decommissioning achieves 0% mortality and successful discharge off mechanical support after cardiac recovery.
Why the study?
Cardiac recovery after durable LVAD implantation is the ideal outcome, but durable LVADs have traditionally required explantation.
Observational (n=6)
No
Durable LVAD decommissioning is a safe and feasible minimally invasive alternative to complete explantation for patients who experience cardiac recovery, demonstrating excellent long-term survival.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Hypothesis-generating for LVAD decommissioning after myocardial recovery; prospective trials needed before clinical adoption.
Cardiac recovery following durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is the ideal outcome for heart failure patients.Traditionally, the durable LVAD has required explantation.We describe our single-center experience with LVAD decommissioning.LVAD decommissioning involved making a sternotomy or sub-xiphoid incision, ligating the outflow graft, and removal of the driveline by transecting the driveline inside and outside of the chest.Six patients underwent durable LVAD decommissioning from 2017-2024.One patient had a HeartWare device, three patients had a HeartMate II, and two patients had a HeartMate 3.All patients were successfully decommissioned and discharged without mechanical circulatory support.
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EL-Andari et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Heart failure with cardiac recovery post-LVAD (n=6). Durable LVAD decommissioning was evaluated on All-cause mortality at longest follow-up. Surgical decommissioning of durable left ventricular assist devices in six patients with cardiac recovery resulted in 0% mortality and successful discharge without mechanical circulatory support.
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