Initial experience with off-pump left ventricular assist device implantation in single center: retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: We hypothesize that implantation of left ventricular assist device through off-pump technique is feasible and has a comparable result to implantation on cardiopulmonary bypass and could improve one-year survival. METHODS: This retrospective, observational, single-center study was conducted on 29 consecutive patients at our institution who underwent off-pump left ventricular assist device implantation by a single surgeon. RESULTS: Twenty-seven procedures were performed successfully using the off-pump technique. The survival rate was 92% at 30 days, 76% at 90 days, and 67% at one year. We compared the one-year survival of different implantation periods, and divided our study into three time intervals (2004-2005, 2006, and 2007). There was a trend in reduction in number of deaths over one year that demonstrated a decrease in death rate from 50% to 17%, as well as improvement in our experience over time. However, this trend is not statistically significant (p = 0.08) due to limited sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Based upon our findings, off-pump left ventricular assist device implantation is a feasible surgical technique, and combining this technique with improved device technology in the future may provide even greater improvement in patient outcomes.