Browsing by Author "Putnik, Svetozar (16550571800)"

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Aims: Most devices for treating ambulatory Class II and III heart failure are linked to electrical pulses. However, a steady electric potential gradient is also necessary for appropriate myocardial performance and may be disturbed by structural heart diseases. We investigated whether chronic application of electrical microcurrent to the heart is feasible and safe and improves cardiac performance. The results of this study should provide guidance for the design of a two-arm, randomized, controlled Phase II trial. Methods and results: This single-arm, non-randomized pilot study involved 10 patients (9 men; mean age, 62 ± 12 years) at two sites with 6 month follow-up. All patients had New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III heart failure and non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <35%. A device was surgically placed to deliver a constant microcurrent to the heart. The following tests were performed at baseline, at hospital discharge, and at six time points during follow-up: determination of LVEF and left ventricular end-diastolic/end-systolic diameter by echocardiography; the 6 min walk test; and assessment of NYHA classification and quality of life (36-Item Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire). Microcurrent application was feasible and safe; no device-related or treatment-related adverse events occurred. During follow-up, rapid and significant signal of efficacy (P < 0.005) was present with improvements in LVEF, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter, and distance walked. For eight patients, NYHA classification improved from Class III to Class I (for seven, as early as 14 days post-operatively); for one, to Class II; and for one, to Class II/III. 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire scores also improved highly significantly. Conclusions: Chronic application of microcurrent to the heart is feasible and safe and leads to a rapid and lasting improvement in heart function and a near normalization of heart size within days. The NYHA classification and quality of life improve just as rapidly. © 2021 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.

Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is a common congenital venous anomaly, usually associated with other congenital heart diseases (12%). Its incidence in the general population is 0.5%. In cardiac surgery patients, it is suspected when using the left subclavian vein or left internal jugular vein for central venous catheter or hemodialysis catheter placement. Transthoracic ultrasound exam is useful in confirming the position of catheters in the venous system by injecting a 5% glucose solution that can be visualized in the right atrium after administration through the catheter. Hemodialysis catheters can be inserted in the PLSVC with good catheter function and no major risk in increase of complications. © 2025, Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular. All rights reserved.

The paper presents collaboration of an abdominal surgeon and heart team in deciding upon surgical management of a patient with the implanted left ventricular assist device, who has undergone emergency abdominal operation for spleen rupture. The paper focuses on the significance of prompt diagnostics, clinical challenges of hemodynamic and anticoagulant treatment, abdominal organ exposure along the placed left ventricular assist device driveline, identification of vascular structures in conditions of continuous blood flow, and reconstruction of the surgical wound in the driveline projection. © 2019 Forum Multimedia Publishing, LLC.

Background: Patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) may impair functional capacity and survival after aortic valve replacement. This study aimed to investigate the impact of PPM on long-term survival and quality of life after mechanical and biological aortic valve replacement. Methods: This study included 595 consecutive patients who had undergone isolated aortic valve replace-ment. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to prosthesis type. The baseline and operative charac-teristics, survival rates, complications, and quality of life of the groups with and without PPM were compared for up to 6 years. The PPM calculation was performed using the effective orifice area value provided by the manufacturer divided by the patient’s body surface area. Results: The moderate to severe PPM rates were 69.8% and 3.7% after biological and mechanical prosthesis implantation, respectively. Mean survival for patients in the biological group who had PPM was statistically significantly shorter (50.2 months [95% CI, 45.2-55.3]) than for patients in the biological group without PPM (60.1 months [95% CI, 55.7-64.4]; P = .04). In the mechanical prosthesis group, there was no difference in mean survival between the subgroup with PPM (66.6 months [95% CI, 58.3-74.9]) and the subgroup without PPM (64.9 months [95% CI, 62.6-67.2]; P = .50). A quality-of-life questionnaire’s scores did not differ between the groups. Conclusion: Mismatch is common after biological valve implantation and statistically significantly affects long-term survival and quality of life. If the risk of PPM after implantation of a biological prosthesis is sus-pected, adopting strategies to avoid PPM at the time of surgery is warranted. © 2023, Texas Heart Institute. All rights reserved.

Purpose: To translate, culturally adapt and validate the Coronary Revascularisation Outcome Questionnaire (CROQ), a disease-specific tool for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD), into Serbian language (CROQ-S). Methods: Validation study was performed at the Clinic for Cardiac Surgery and Clinic for Cardiology, University Clinical Centre of Serbia. We included a convenience sample of 600 patients with IHD divided into four groups. Acceptability, reliability and validity of the CROQ-S were assessed. Results: CROQ-S was acceptable to patients as demonstrated by less than 1% of missing data for each single item. Cronbach's Alpha was higher than the criterion of 0.70 for all scales in each version except the Cognitive Functioning scale which only met this criterion in the CABG pre-revascularisation version. Mean values of item-total correlations were greater than 0.30 for all scales except the Cognitive Functioning scale in both the pre-revascularisation groups. Compared to the original version, exploratory factor analysis in our study showed more factors; however, the majority of items had a factor loading greater than 0.3 on the right scale. Correlations of CROQ-S scales with the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey and Seattle Angina Questionnaire showed the expected pattern whereby scales measuring similar constructs were most highly correlated. Conclusion: CROQ-S is an acceptable, reliable and valid disease-specific instrument for measuring HRQoL in this sample of Serbian speaking patients with IHD both before and after coronary revascularisation. However, the Cognitive Functioning scale did not meet all the psychometric criteria and further validation of its responsiveness is required. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

IMPORTANCE Outcomes in patients with diabetes after fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using current-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) compared with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are unknown. OBJECTIVES To investigate the relative treatment effect of PCI vs CABG according to diabetes status with respect to major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) at 3 years and to evaluate the impact of the SYNTAX score. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This is a prespecified subgroup analysis of the FAME (Fractional Flow Reserve vs Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation) 3 trial, an investigator-initiated, randomized clinical trial conducted at 48 centers worldwide. The FAME 3 trial enrolled patients with 3-vessel coronary artery disease not involving the left main undergoing coronary revascularization between August 2014 and December 2019. Data analysis was conducted in August 2023. Clinical follow-up was performed at hospital discharge and at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years after randomization. INTERVENTION Either FFR-guided PCI with current-generation DES or CABG. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary end point was MACCE, defined as the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or repeat revascularization at 3 years. RESULTS Of 1500 total patients enrolled, mean (SD) patient age was 65.1 (8.4) years, and 265 patients (17.7%) were female. The FAME 3 trial included 428 patients with diabetes (28.5%). Patients with diabetes, especially those receiving insulin, had a higher risk of MACCE at 3 years compared with those without diabetes. Regarding relative treatment effect, the risk of MACCE was higher after FFR-guided PCI compared with CABG in both patients with diabetes (hazard ratio [HR], 1.44; 95% CI, 0.91-2.28; P = .12) and those without diabetes (HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.08-2.07; P = .02), with no significant interaction (P for interaction = .94). In patients with a low SYNTAX score (<23), there was no significant difference in MACCE between PCI and CABG, while in patients with an intermediate to high SYNTAX score (≥23), PCI had a higher risk of MACCE than CABG, regardless of diabetes status. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this subgroup analysis of the FAME 3 randomized clinical trial, the relative benefit of CABG compared with FFR-guided PCI was similar among patients with and without diabetes. © 2025 American Medical Association. All rights reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Introduction. The device thrombosis is one of the most serious complications of the left ventricle assist device implantation with a high mortality and morbidity rate. Case report. A 59-year-old male was implanted by left ventricular assist device Heart Mate II as a bridge to transplantation seventeen months before the onset of a potentially fatal complication – the thrombosis with the complete obstruction of the device. Despite the aggressive pharmacological treatment following the initial suspicion of the pump thrombosis, the patient condition got worse with the final “pump off” alarm that marked the discontinuance of the pump work as a result of the complete obstruction by the thrombus. An appropriate occurrence of an adequate donor resulted in a successful surgical treatment – the heart transplantation. Conclusion. The urgent heart transplantation by the first priority rank, or the device replacement, although technically extremely demanding procedures, are successful treatment options for these patients. © 2020 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study was to examine the incidence and significance of right heart failure (RHF) in the early and late phase of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation with the identification of predictive factors for the development of RHF. This was a prospective observational analytical cohort study. The study included 92 patients who underwent LVAD implantation and for whom all necessary clinical data from the follow-up period were available, as well as unambiguous conclusions by the heart team regarding pathologies, adverse events, and complications. Of the total number of patients, 43.5% died. The median overall survival of patients after LVAD implantation was 22 months. In the entire study population, survival rates were 88.04% at one month, 80.43% at six months, 70.65% at one year, and 61.96% at two years. Preoperative RHF was present in 24 patients, 12 of whom died and 12 survived LVAD implantation. Only two survivors developed early RHF (ERHF) and two late RHF (LRHF). The most significant predictors of ERHF development are brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), pre-surgery RHF, FAC < 20%, prior renal insufficiency, and total duration of ICU stay (HR: 1.002, 0.901, 0.858, 23.554, and 1.005, respectively). RHF following LVAD implantation is an unwanted complication with a negative impact on treatment outcome. The increased risk of fatal outcome in patients with ERHF and LRHF after LVAD implantation results in a need to identify patients at risk of RHF, in order to administer the available preventive and therapeutic methods. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The aim of this study was to examine the incidence and significance of right heart failure (RHF) in the early and late phase of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation with the identification of predictive factors for the development of RHF. This was a prospective observational analytical cohort study. The study included 92 patients who underwent LVAD implantation and for whom all necessary clinical data from the follow-up period were available, as well as unambiguous conclusions by the heart team regarding pathologies, adverse events, and complications. Of the total number of patients, 43.5% died. The median overall survival of patients after LVAD implantation was 22 months. In the entire study population, survival rates were 88.04% at one month, 80.43% at six months, 70.65% at one year, and 61.96% at two years. Preoperative RHF was present in 24 patients, 12 of whom died and 12 survived LVAD implantation. Only two survivors developed early RHF (ERHF) and two late RHF (LRHF). The most significant predictors of ERHF development are brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), pre-surgery RHF, FAC < 20%, prior renal insufficiency, and total duration of ICU stay (HR: 1.002, 0.901, 0.858, 23.554, and 1.005, respectively). RHF following LVAD implantation is an unwanted complication with a negative impact on treatment outcome. The increased risk of fatal outcome in patients with ERHF and LRHF after LVAD implantation results in a need to identify patients at risk of RHF, in order to administer the available preventive and therapeutic methods. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of silent coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and assess long-term prognosis in terms of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE)-free survival. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted at the Clinic for Cardiac Surgery, University Clinical Center of Serbia, in asymptomatic patients with severe AS, normal LVEF and stress test without signs of myocardial ischemia. Adverse cardiovascular events (cardiac death, myocardial infarction and any hospitalization due to heart disease) was monitored during one year of follow up. Results: A total of 116 asymptomatic patients with severe AS were included in the study. The average age was 67.3 ± 9.6 years, and 56.9% of patients were men. The most common cause of AS was degenerative valvular disease (83.5%). The incidence of significant CAD was 30 out of 116 patients (25.9%). The median Society for Thoracic Surgeons (STS) predicted risk of mortality score was 1.62% (25th to 75th percentile: 1.15–2.76%). The overall mean gradient across aortic valve (Pmean) was 52.30 mmHg ± 12.16, and the mean indexed AVA (AVAi) was 0.37 ± 0.09 cm2/m2. The mean LVEF was 68.40% ± 8.01%. Early surgery for aortic valve replacement was performed in 55 patients (55.2%), while 52 (44.8%) patients received conservative treatment. Twenty-two patients (42.3%) in the conservative treatment group underwent surgery during follow up. There were a total of 44 (37.9%) patients with MACE during one year of follow up. Univariate Cox regression analyses identified the following significant risk factors for MACE-free survival: presence of CAD and early conservative treatment (p = 0.004), age (p = 0.003), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.016) and STS score (p = 0.039). According to multivariate analysis, the presence of CAD with early conservative treatment was the most important predictor of MACE-free survival in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Early surgery for aortic valve replacement in asymptomatic patients with severe AS and concomitant CAD is beneficial for long-term survival. © 2024 by the authors.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of postoperative complications in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and simultaneous carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and find predictors of postoperative complications. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 86 patients after simultaneous CABG and CEA. Inclusion criteria were: patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis with a reduction of the carotid lumen diameter of more than 70% detected with Doppler ultrasound and diagnosed with one, two, or three vessel coronary artery disease with coronary stenosis more than 75% and hemodynamic significant stenosis of the left main artery. Exclusion criteria were patients with urgent and previous cardiac surgery and patients with myocardial infarction and stroke in the past one month. We monitored preoperative (ejection fraction, coronarography status), operative (number of grafts, on-pump or off-pump technique) and postoperative (extubation, unit care and hospital stay, bleeding and reoperation) details and complications (myocardial infarction, neurological events, inotropic agents and transfusion requiry, infection, arrhythmic complication, renal failure, mortality). Results: Postoperative complications were observed in 18 (29.9%) patients. Two patients (2.3%) had postoperative stroke and one patient (1.2%) had transient ischemic attack (TIA). Previous stroke was a predictor for increased postoperative neurological events (P < .05). Intrahospital mortality was 8.1%. Conclusion: Simultaneous CEA and CABG were performed with low rates of stroke and TIA. Previous stroke was identified as a predictor for increased postoperative neurological complications. © 2019 Forum Multimedia Publishing, LLC

Introduction The implantable device for mechanical support of the left ventricular circulation (LVAD) is widely applied as a therapeutic option for survival and improvement of the quality of life in patients with the end-stage heart failure. The objective of our paper was to present the implantation of the aforementioned device together with the aortic valve replacement in the same procedure. Case outline The patient was admitted to the hospital during his terminal stage of heart failure, with ejection fraction of 18%. The ergospirometry test showed that the maximum VO2 was 10.1 ml/kg/min. Because the medicament therapy hadn’t provided adequate results, the LVAD device was implanted as a bridge until transplantation. Due to severe aortic insufficiency, the aortic valve was concomitantly replaced with bioprosthesis in order to prevent the negative effect of this valvular disease on pump work and clinical outcome. Conclusion This case report confirms that LVAD implantation with the correction of a significant aortic insufficiency is a procedure with satisfactory short-term and long-term results. © 2019, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Introduction: Cardiac tamponade (CT) is a life-threatening complication of radiofrequency ablation (RFA). The course and outcome of CT in low-to-medium volume electrophysiology centers are underreported. Methods: We analyzed the incidence, management and outcomes of CT in 1500 consecutive RFAs performed in our center during 2011–2016. Results: Of 1500 RFAs performed in 1352 patients (age 55 years, interquartile range: 41–63), 569 were left-sided procedures (n = 406 with transseptal access). Conventional RFA or irrigated RFA was performed in 40.9% and 59.1% of procedures, respectively. Ablation was performed mostly for atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (25.4%), atrial fibrillation (AF; 18.5%), atrial flutter (18.4%), accessory pathway (16.5%) or idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia (VA; 12.3%), and rarely for structural VA (2.1%). CT occurred in 12 procedures (0.8%): 10 AF ablations, 1 idiopathic VA and 1 typical atrial flutter ablation. Factors significantly associated with CT were older age, pre-procedural oral anticoagulation, left-sided procedures, transseptal access, AF ablation, irrigated RFA and longer fluoroscopy time (on univariate analysis), and AF ablation (on multivariable analysis). The perforation site was located in the left atrium (n = 7), right atrium (n = 3), or in the left ventricle or coronary sinus (n = 1 each). Upon pericardiocentesis, two patients underwent urgent cardiac surgery because of continued bleeding. There was no fatal outcome. During the follow-up of 19 ± 14 months, eight patients were arrhythmia free. Conclusion: Incidence of RFA-related CT in our medium-volume center was low and significantly associated with AF ablation. The outcome of CT was mostly favorable after pericardiocentesis, but readily accessible cardiothoracic surgery back-up should be mandatory in RFA centers. © 2016, The Author(s).

Introduction/Objective Numerous anomalies of the cardiac venous system prevent the optimal endovascular implantation of the left ventricular (LV) lead in more than 15% of patients with indication for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The endovenous approach in these patients can be one of the potential reasons for the large number of nonresponders reported in the literature. The purpose of this study was to analyze the results of an alternative myoepicardial approach to the stimulation of the left ventricle in CRT. Methods From June 2014 to December 2015 at the Department of Cardiac Surgery of the Clinical Centre of Serbia, 15 myoepicardial LV leads for CRT were implanted. Coronary sinus venography revealed thrombosis of the coronary sinus in nine patients, and unfavorable anatomy of the coronary venous system in six patients. In all patients, limited left thoracotomy was used as an approach to the lateral wall of the heart. Results There were no major surgical complications and no lethal hospital outcomes. In a six-month follow-up period we registered a significant increase in the length of the six-minute walk test (for an average of 57.9 m), reduction of the QRS complex width (to 26.25 ms), increase in left ventricular ejection fraction (12.2%), and reduction of mitral regurgitation for 1+. Based on all the parameters, it was concluded that all patients responded favorably to the applied CRT. Conclusion Closer cooperation between cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in identifying patients who would benefit the most from a myoepicardial approach for LV stimulation is necessary in order to attempt to reduce the nonresponder rate. © 2017, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Introduction. Heart injuries can be classified as penetrating and non-penetrating (blunt). Penetrating wounds are usually caused by stabbing with a piercing object, weapon or projectiles - missiles. The right atrium is damaged in most cases, because of its anatomical position - making the most of the anterior side of the heart. Morbidity caused by stabbing injuries to the heart is 20%-30%, while piercing wounds cause 30%-60% of deaths. Case report. A 28- year-old patient was admitted to our clinic with acute ischemia of the extremities. Angiography revealed a bullet in the right common femoral artery, occluding it. The patient denied having any piercing or shooting wound to his leg, but he said that four years before he had been shot to his chest. Echocardiography revealed an atrial septal defect of secondary type. An event reconstruction revealed that, four years after shooting, the bullet was displaced from the heart to the right common femoral artery. Conclusion. This case report is unique because of the rare type of injury, time that passed from the injury, the way bullet entered the artery (via atrial septal defect) and especially the success of both surgical procedures (embolectomy and repair of atrial septal defect).

INTRODUCTION: While the survival rates for patients with end-stage heart failure have dramatically improved with newer generations of left ventricular assist devices, LVAD-specific infections are important cause of morbidity, mortality, and hospital readmissions in these patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of all driveline infections in patients who had undergone LVAD implantation at a single cardiosurgical center. Between June 2013 and March 2017, 51 patients underwent implantation of LVAD. Among these, 12 received Heart Ware LVAD,34 Heart Mate II LVAD, and 5 Heart Mate III LVAD. The end goal for LVAD therapy was destination therapy in three patients and bridge-to-transplantation in 48 patients. RESULTS: One month, six months, and one-year survival rates were 90%, 85%, and 81%, respectively. Five patients developed driveline infections. Median time from LVAD implantation to driveline infections was 126 days. One of these patients underwent heart transplantation. Two patients were treated with antibiotics and surgical driveline repositioning with extensive debridement of the wound. Two patients with a chronic infection were treated conservatively with regular wound cleaning. CONCLUSION: Driveline infections remain a serious therapeutic challenge. With the development of surgical techniques and new devices, it is possible to reduce morbidity and increase survival rate in patients with implanted LVAD. © 2020, Edizioni Luigi Pozzi. All rights reserved.

Background: Heart failure is the most frequent cause of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) and its severity may predict the development of heart failure (HF) and is known to be a prognostic factor of poor outcome after heart transplant (HTx). The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of preoperative PAH related to left-sided HF on long-term survival after HTx and to identify the hemodynamic parameters of PAH that predict survival after HTx. Methods: A prospective observational trial was performed, and it included 44 patients subjected to heart transplantation. Patients were divided into two groups: The first one with the preoperative diagnosis of PAH and the second one without the PAH diagnosed prior to the HTx. The two groups were compared for baseline characteristics, operative characteristics, survival, and hemodynamic parameters obtained by right heart catheterization. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan Meyer analysis, and Cox regression analysis was performed to determine independent predictors of survival. Results: The median follow-up time was 637.4 days (1-2028 days). The median survival within the group of patients with preoperative PAH was 1144 days (95% CI 662.884-1625.116) and 1918.920 days (95% CI 1594.577-2243.263) within the group of patients without PAH (P = .023), HR 0.279 (95% [CI]: 0.086-0.910; P = .034. The 30-day mortality in patients within PAH group was significantly higher, six versus two patients in the non PAH group (χ2 = 5.103, P < .05), while the long-term outcome after this period did not differ between the groups. Patients with preoperative PAH had significantly higher values of MPAP, PCWP, TPG and PVRI, while CO and CI did not differ between the two groups. Mean PVRI was 359.1 ± 97.3 dyn·s·cm-5 in the group with preoperative PAH and 232.2 ± 22.75 dyn·s·cm-5 in the group without PAH, P < .001. TPG values were 11.95 ± 5.08 mmHg in the PAH group while patients without PAH had mean values of 5.16 ± 1.97 mmHg, P < .001. Cox regression analysis was done for © 2021 Forum Multimedia Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

Background: The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients with end-stage heart failure (HF) who underwent continuous flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) in a developing country and to compare to those reported by more developed countries. The secondary goal was on determining factors that may be connected to improved survival. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 47 consecutive patients who underwent CF-LVAD at our institution. After one year the survival and adverse event profiles of patients were evaluated. At 3, 6 and 12 months, the cardiac, renal and liver function outcomes were assessed. Results: The 30-day, 6-month and 1-year survival rates were 89%, 85% and 80%, respectively. A significant improvement in dimensions and ejection fraction of left ventricle, BNP, functional capacity, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and total bilirubin (P < 0.05 for all) were noticed 3 months post-CF-LVAD implantation, and patients were stable throughout the entire first year follow up. In the group of patients with baseline renal dysfunction (RD) there were significant improvements of renal function (P=0.004), with no changes on follow up. 57% of patients exhibited some kind of adverse event, commonly in the form of bleeding. In multivariate Cox regression analysis renal failure was found to be as an independent risk factor for the overall survival (HR =13.1, P < 0.001). Conclusions: In conclusion, our data extends previous findings from centers of developed countries, that CF-LVAD is an adequate treatment option for patients suffering from end-stage HF, and encourages expansion of CF-LVAD implantation in developing countries with nascent HT program. © Journal of Thoracic Disease.

Introduction Implantation of the new-generation left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is an efficient therapeutic option as a bridge to transplantation in adults, as well as in children and adolescents with small body surface. The aim of this work was to present a case of a successful surgical treatment of terminal heart failure in a male adolescent who had an LVAD implanted as a bridge to heart transplantation. Case outline The patient, a 17-year-old male, was admitted with the end-stage heart failure due to the dilated cardiomyopathy and implanted LVAD. Fourteen months after LVAD implantation, a successful “second stage” surgical procedure was performed – orthotopic heart transplantation preceded by the LVAD explantation. Conclusion Long-term mechanical circulatory support is an effective and safe method in treatment of the end-stage heart failure as a bridge to transplantation in the adolescent period. © 2019, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.