Severe donor shortage in Japan makes the waiting period for heart transplantation extremely long and the left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are often used for bridge-to-transplant. We present three cases of infected and exposed DuraHeart LVAD system treated with free flaps. Four free flaps (two latissimus flaps and two anterolateral thigh flaps) were transferred using the right internal thoracic vessels or left deep inferior epigastric vessels as recipients. The potential significance of the continuous low pressure blood flow generated by the LVAD system on microvascular patency has not been previously reported. All flaps survived and worked efficiently to control the infection and cover the devices. Heart transplantation was conducted in the two of three patients. Free flap transfer is an efficient treatment for the patients with infected and exposed implantable LVAD.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.