Left Ventricular Assist Device Outflow Cannula Obstruction: Importance of Multimodality Imaging

Majid Asawaeer; Sajid Kadir; Arif Albulushi; Anthony W Castleberry; Yiannis S Chatzizisis

doi:10.1016/j.jaccas.2020.05.065

Left Ventricular Assist Device Outflow Cannula Obstruction: Importance of Multimodality Imaging

JACC Case Rep. 2020 Aug 19;2(10):1454-1456. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccas.2020.05.065. eCollection 2020 Aug.

Authors

Majid Asawaeer¹, Sajid Kadir¹, Arif Albulushi¹, Anthony W Castleberry², Yiannis S Chatzizisis¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
² Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.

Abstract

One of the dreaded complications of left ventricular assist device implantation is mechanical obstruction of the device secondary to pump thrombosis or mechanical outflow cannula obstruction. We describe a case of outflow cannula obstruction caused by kinking and twisting of the outflow graft after surgical manipulation of the pump. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.).

Keywords: LV, left ventricular; LVAD, left ventricular assist device; cardiac assist devices; cardiomyopathy; computed tomography.