Reducing Pain at the Pump

On October 3rd medical history was made regarding the procedure physicians took when installing a HeartMate 3. A HeartMate 3 is the latest version of left ventricular assisting devices (LVADs). It helps assist the heart in pumping blood throughout the body and therefore, supplies oxygen to the organs. Prior to this procedural break through, the normal surgery was to perform a sternotomy. This is an operation that makes a 12-inch inline incision along the sternum exposing the heart and lungs. Such an invasive procedure used to be necessary in order to access the left ventricle and aorta for easier implantation of the HeartMate 3. Now, surgeons only needed to make  about a 2.5 incision on the lower right portion of the chest and a four inch incision on the lower left portion of the chest. This procedure is referred to as a thoracotomy. Shaun Ott was the first ever recipient to receive this type of surgery. This procedure is important especially in Shaun Ott's case due to the future procedures he'll need to endure, a heart transplant being one. In performing the less invasive surgery, the recovery time is shortened and spares the patients from a second sternotomy, which can be very difficult to perform the second time due to the scar tissue and the close proximity of surgeries.

This new way of implanting a HeartMate 3 is important because almost half the recipients who receive heart transplants, receive this LVADs. The HeartMate 3 According to St. Judes, 77% of patients who receive HeartMate3 improved overall health and 83% of patients increased their average 6-minute walk distance. This means this device is an extremely important tool for prolonging the lives of heart transplant recipients. 

This tool is used as a bridge to a heart transplant
Smith,T. (2017). UCHealth first aims to reduce pain at the pump. UCHealth. 
https://www.uchealth.org/today/2017/10/25/uchealth-first-aims-to-reduce-pain-at-the-pump/

 St. Jude Medical. (2015, September). HeartMate 3 Patient Handbook. Document 10002833.B https://www.sjmglobal.com/patients/heart-failure/our-solutions/left-ventricle-assist-device/heartmate-3?halert=show&clset=92f57278-460e-4300-b7fe-89e52a04194f%3acadddb93-fcc4-47f2-8ceb-fd88f01ca17f