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Year : 2012
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: 15 | Issue : 3 | Page
: 250-251 |
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Intermittent obstruction of left ventricular assist device due to prolapsing papillary muscle |
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Clint G Humpherys, Steven T Morozowich, Harish Ramakrishna
Department of Anesthesiology, Section of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, USA
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Date of Web Publication | 4-Jul-2012 |
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How to cite this article: Humpherys CG, Morozowich ST, Ramakrishna H. Intermittent obstruction of left ventricular assist device due to prolapsing papillary muscle. Ann Card Anaesth 2012;15:250-1 |
How to cite this URL: Humpherys CG, Morozowich ST, Ramakrishna H. Intermittent obstruction of left ventricular assist device due to prolapsing papillary muscle. Ann Card Anaesth [serial online] 2012 [cited 2021 Jan 26];15:250-1. Available from: https://www.annals.in/text.asp?2012/15/3/250/97986 |
Common causes of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) inflow cannula obstruction include hypovolemia, thrombus and cannula impingement against the interventricular septum or the ventricular free wall. [1] Obstruction due to the left ventricular papillary muscles is less commonly considered [2] and, to the best of our knowledge, there are only two reports of this: one diagnosed with echocardiography [3] and the other found at autopsy. [4]
We present intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) images of the anterior papillary muscle prolapsing into an LVAD inflow cannula [Figure 1], [Video 1] resulting in elevated inflow velocities with intermittent obstruction [Figure 2] in a 47-year-old male with biventricular assist device support post acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting and mitral valve replacement with subsequent resection due to prosthetic thrombosis. He presented to the operating room on this occasion for sternal closure and the evaluation of low-LVAD flows refractory to standard therapy. Our TEE findings prompted surgical resection of the papillary muscle. This case demonstrates the importance of TEE guidance when inserting an LVAD cannula and in the subsequent reevaluation of patients with mechanical circulatory assist devices, and reminds us that obstructing papillary muscles must be considered in the differential diagnosis of LVAD dysfunction. | Figure 1: Anterior papillary muscle (arrow) obstructing the left ventricular inflow cannula of a continuous-flow extracorporeal CentriMag left ventricular assist system (Levitronix LLC, Waltham, MA, USA)
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 | Figure 2: Continuous wave Doppler demonstrating significantly elevated peak inflow velocities with intermittent obstruction corresponding with papillary muscle prolapse. Normal peak inflow velocities for continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices range 1-2 m/s[1]
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References | |  |
1. | Chumnanvej S, Wood MJ, MacGillivray TE, Melo MF. Perioperative echocardiographic examination for ventricular assist device implantation. Anesth Analg 2007;105:583-601.  [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] |
2. | Augoustides JG. Perioperative echocardiographic assessment of the left ventricular assist device implantation: additional causes of inflow cannula obstruction. Anesth Analg 2008;106:673-4; author reply 674.  [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] |
3. | Oda N, Kato TS, Niwaya K, Komamura K. Unusual cause of left ventricular assist device failure: pendulating mass in the cavity. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2007;32:533.  [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] |
4. | Horton SC, Khodaverdian R, Chatelain P, McIntosh ML, Horne BD, Muhlestein JB, et al. Left ventricular assist device malfunction: An approach to diagnosis by echocardiography. J Am Coll Cardiol 2005;45:1435-40.  [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] |

Correspondence Address: Steven T Morozowich Department of Anesthesiology, Section of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, 5777 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85054 USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-9784.97986

[Figure 1], [Figure 2] |
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This article has been cited by | 1 |
Intermittent left ventricular assist device inflow tract obstruction by prolapsing papillary muscle detected by multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) |
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| Pranjal Kumar Boruah,Dhiraj Baruah,Claudius Mahr,Nunzio Gadlianello,Kaushik Shahir | | International Journal of Cardiology. 2014; | | [Pubmed] | [DOI] | |
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