Case report

Left Ventricular Assist with the Bio-Medicus Pump on a 4-Month Old Infant with Anamalous Left Coronary Artery

Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, California

^* Address correspondence to: Craig P. Roberts, CCP, Stanford University Hospital, Operating Room, Stanford, CA 94309

Abstract

This 5.4 kg. (.38 BSA) 4 month old boy was born full term with no significant immediate problems, although the mother had noticed occasional rapid breathing since birth. The child's growth, development and appetite were normal. Eventually, because of the apparent difficulty breathing, the mother took the child to a physician who referred the infant to a cardiologist. A chest x-ray revealed gross cardiomegaly and an echocardiogram reveald an akinetic left ventricular posterior wall with evidence of previous myocardial infarction. The septum displayed normal motion as did the lateral wall. The left ventricular ejection fraction was approximately 20% and evidence of anomalous take-off of the left coronary artery (LCA) off the main pulmonary artery (PA} was noted. The child was referred to Stanford University Hospital for surgical repair to redirect the LCA to the aorta (A^O) (J Extra-Corporeal Technol. 21(2): 73-74, 1989)