Hannah Zimmerman

Treatment of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy With Mechanical Assist Devices and Cardiac Transplantation

BACKGROUND Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a life threatening illness. If maximal medical therapy fails, patients may then be treated with mechanical circulatory support devices and (or) cardiac transplantation. Our purpose is to demonstrate the long-term efficacy of these surgical interventions. METHODS A retrospective review of 18 patients diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy from 1994 to 2009 was conducted. RESULTS Eighteen patients were referred with a median of seven year delay between onset of symptoms and presentation. Eight (44%) had medical therapy with only one death at five years, seven are alive, and two patients are awaiting transplantation. Six patients were implanted with devices. From this group, there were two hospital deaths, one native heart recovery, and three heart transplants with 100% survival. Four patients (21%) were treated with transplantation alone and all survived. Combined device and (or) transplant survival was 80% at one year. CONCLUSIONS The natural history of this group varied; 38% of the medically treated patients are stable on medical therapy (3 of 8) and 67% of the device patients (4 of 6) are alive. One of six device patients (17%) was successfully bridged to native heart recovery. Mechanical assist devices can be used as a bridge to recovery or as a bridge to cardiac transplantation for the treatment of peripartum cardiomyopathy patients who fail medical management. In addition, cardiac transplantation alone is also a viable treatment option for patients who fail medical management and do not require a mechanical assist device.

Intensive laparoscopic training course for surgical residents: program description, initial results, and requirements

IntroductionThe Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona has created an intensive laparoscopic training course for surgical residents featuring a combined simulation laboratory and live swine model. We herein report the essential components to design and implement a rigorous training course for developing laparoscopic skills in surgical residents.Materials and methodsAt our institution, we developed a week-long pilot intensive laparoscopic training course. Six surgical residents (ranging from interns to chief residents) participate in the structured, multimodality course, without any clinical responsibilities. It consists of didactic instruction, laboratory training, practice in the simulation laboratory, and performance (under the direction of attending laparoscopic surgeons) of surgical procedures on pigs. The pigs are anesthetized and attended by veterinarians and technicians, and then euthanized at the end of each day. Three teams of two different training-level residents are paired. Daily briefing, debriefing, and analysis are performed at the close of each session. A written paper survey is completed at the end of the course.ResultsThis report describes the results of first 36 surgical residents trained in six courses. Preliminary data reveal that all 36 now feel more comfortable handling laparoscopic instruments and positioning trocars; they now perform laparoscopic surgery with greater confidence and favor having the course as part of their educational curriculum.ConclusionA multimodality intensive laparoscopic training course should become a standard requirement for surgical residents, enabling them to acquire basic and advanced laparoscopic skills on a routine basis.

Recovery of dilated cardiomyopathies in infants and children using left ventricular assist devices.

Most infants and children implanted with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are bridged to cardiac transplantation. Prioritizing recovery may decrease this trend. Patients were treated with LVAD ventricular decompression, medical heart failure therapy, and bolus therapy with a beta-agonist before weaning trials. Devices were removed if adequate function was observed. Eleven patients with a mean age of 1.7 years presented for LVAD implantation. The mean Z score for left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) was +5.5 (+1.6 to +7.3), and the mean fractional shortening was 9% (5%–14%). They were on maximal medical therapy and inotropic support. Duration of device support ranged from 6 to 22 days (mean: 13 days). There were three deaths, one from preimplant anoxic brain damage and two from thromboembolism. Eight patients (73%) recovered, were explanted, and are alive 0.6–6 years with hearts that have a mean Z score for LVEDD of 1.0 (0.09–3.7) and fractional shortening of 23%–36%. Left ventricular assist device decompression of dilated left ventricles in infants and children led to long-term survival in 73%. Ventricular size was significantly reduced and contractility significantly increased. None of these patients required transplantation.

Device malfunction of the CardioWest total artificial heart secondary to catheter entrapment of the tricuspid valve.

We report two cases at a single institution, a 52-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, who had failures of their CardioWest total artificial hearts (TAH) from central venous lines that caused obstruction of the right ventricular inflow valves. Each patient was noted to have decreasing TAH outputs for a few days before this catastrophic device arrest. Both patients died; one suddenly and one during a protracted period, as a result of catheter entrapment of the disc of the Medtronic Hall right ventricular inflow valve.

Mechanical Support and Medical Therapy Reverse Heart Failure in Infants and Children

Most infants and children implanted with ventricular assist devices (VADs) go on to cardiac transplantation. Recovery of dilated cardiomyopathies with the combination left ventricular decompression with a VAD and treatment with maximal medical therapy has been possible in some adults, and may be more feasible in infants and children. We used pulsatile and continuous flow VADs and the total artificial heart (TAH) as bridges to transplantation or to recovery. Candidates for native heart recovery were treated with maximal medical therapy for congestive heart failure and short-term dobutamine prior to weaning off device support. Since 1997, 28 infants and children, ages 1 month to 16 years, were implanted for durations of 3-107 days (mean 27). Eighteen received left VADs (LVAD), seven biventricular assist devices (BiVADs), and three TAHs. Device-related mortality was 7/28 (25%), leaving 21/28 (75%) surviving to transplantation or weaning from device support and 20/28 (71%) discharged from the hospital and currently surviving for 2 months to 9 years. Ten of 11 transplant recipients (90%) have survived 2 to 9 years. All 10 with recovered hearts are alive and well for 2 months to 5 years. Eight of 12 (67%) LVAD patients with dilated hearts recovered. None of the recovery patients were over 6 years old. Infants and children who have failed inotropic therapy may be treated with an LVAD and medical therapy for congestive heart failure anticipating native heart recovery. A variety of devices have been tried. All small LVADs yielded comparable results. Larger and older children also have a chance of recovery, but our experience with them is too small except to note that they do well with larger devices and transplantation.

Left ventricular assist device support as a bridge to recovery in young children.

OBJECTIVE Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) experience and follow-up data in children are limited. We report the deployment and successful weaning from LVAD in young children with severe heart failure (HF). DESIGN From 2004--2009, 13 children suffering from HF were placed on LVAD. All presented with a dilated left ventricle (LV) with severely reduced contractility, secondary to myocarditis, atrial arrhythmia or idiopathic HF. This study reports their outcomes and longitudinal follow-up. RESULTS Of 13 young children with HF (ages 1 month--6 years; mean 19.2 months) placed on LVAD: eight weaned to recovery and successful hospital discharge, one was transplanted and four died. Echo follow-up in the weaned patients (mean age 22.1 months) revealed significant improvements from pre-LVAD measurements: LV end-diastolic dimension (LVED) mean z-score decreased from +4.8 to +0.95 (P < .001); fractional shortening (FS %) improved from a mean of 9.3% to 33% (P < .001); and the degree of mitral regurgitation (MR) significantly improved (P < .05). Time to LVAD deployment from HF diagnosis was more likely to be less than 30 days in the successfully weaned patients (100%) than patients who died or were transplanted (20%); P = .007. CONCLUSIONS LVAD support can be utilized as a bridge to recovery in young children with HF. Following LVAD weaning, children sustain improvements in LV size, function and degree of MR. LVAD deployment less than 30 days from HF diagnosis improves the likelihood of successful weaning and illustrates that children with acute etiologies of HF are more likely to achieve recovery.

Human Papillomavirus-58 and -73―Associated Digital Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a Patient With Aggressive Digital Papillary Adenocarcinoma

Aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinoma (ADPA) is a rare tumor that is considered to arise from eccrine sweat glands of the skin. It occurs predominantly in men with a mean age in the sixth decade. It shows a strong tendency for local recurrence and has the potential to metastasize to distant sites. Prompt diagnosis and regular follow-up are important to ensure the best possible outcome. We discuss a case of recurrent ADPA associated with subsequent squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in different contralateral digits in a 55-year-old man. One SCC lesion tested positive for human papillomavirus (HPV)-58. HPV-associated digital SCCs have been reported; most cases are HPV-16 positive. This report describes a rare case of an HPV-58-positive invasive digital SCC and an HPV-73-positive SCC in situ associated with ADPA.

Bridge to recovery with a thoratec biventricular assist device for postpartum cardiomyopathy.

A 25-year-old African-American woman developed shortness of breath 7 days after a spontaneous vaginal delivery. She was found by echocardiogram to have a left ventricular ejection fraction of 10% and was diagnosed with postpartum cardiomyopathy. Despite medical therapy including diuretics, an ace inhibitor, and a beta blocker, over the next 5 months, the patient had more than 12 hospital admissions for congestive heart failure. After accepting her in transfer, we placed her on multiple IV inotropes and observed no improvement. We then implanted a Thoratec Biventricular Assist Device. During 26 days of support, we conducted two weaning trials that documented return of cardiac function. We then pretreated her for 48 hours before device explantation. She was weaned off inotropic therapy over 2 weeks and discharged to home with normal cardiac function. Two years after explantation of the device, she has a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% and is New York Heart Association functional class 1.