186 Long Term Mechanical Circulatory Support: What Are the Final Options?

Abstract

Despite advances in medical therapy, thousands of patients (pts) with end-stage diseases die each year awaiting a suitable donor organ. In cardiac transplantation, pts can be bridged using chronic mechanical circulatory support (MCS) until a suitable cardiac allograft becomes available. Contemporary MCS devices support systemic circulation with a continuous flow (CF) mechanism that generates non-physiological, non-pulsatile blood flow to vital organs. We present an unconventional case of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) from a deceased donor with end-stage heart failure who had been managed using a non-pulsatile MCS device.