First Pediatric HeartMate 3 Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in Romania – a Case Report

The use of ventricular assist devices as bridge-to-transplantation therapy has a critical role in the management of end-stage heart failure in pediatric patients without available compatible organ donors. The HeartMate 3 is an intracorporeal centrifugal flow pump with a fully magnetically levitated motor currently approved for the management of advanced refractory left ventricular failure in pediatric patients, with positive early outcomes. We report the case of a 17-year-old adolescent girl with end-stage heart failure secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy of idiopathic etiology, with multiple failed attempts of weaning from inotropic support (PEDIMACS 3 profile), who successfully received a HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device as bridge-to-transplantation therapy with no significant adverse events during the early follow-up period. This paper presents the first case of pediatric ventricular assist device implantation in Romania.