VAD Program
We implanted a Berlin heart as a bridge to transplant in the youngest patient to date — an infant only 2 days old.
We implanted the fourth Jarvik 2015 as part of the PumpKIN trial, successfully bridging a toddler with dilated cardiomyopathy to heart transplant.
Under the leadership of Dr. Sabrina P. Law, our VAD program remains one of the busiest in the country, with outstanding outcomes. Pediatric patients of all ages with cardiomyopathy and CHD are routinely successfully bridged to heart transplantation utilizing both pulsatile and continuous flow strategies. In 2019 and 2020, 25 patients underwent VAD implantation at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, 4 of whom had complex CHD. We implanted the fourth Jarvik 2015 as part of the PumpKIN trial, successfully bridging a toddler with dilated cardiomyopathy to heart transplant.
Our program has expertise in all available circulatory support devices. From paracorporeal devices in babies and young children such as the Berlin Heart EXCOR® and the continuous flow PediMag™, to fully implantable intracorporeal devices such as the Heartmate 3™ and Heartware™ HVAD™ in older children and adolescents, our program has an outstanding track-record in successfully bridging patients to transplant and allowing for effective rehabilitation leading up to transplant surgery. We implanted a Berlin heart as a bridge to transplant in the youngest patient to date—an infant only 2 days old. Using combination strategies of percutaneous devices such as the Impella CP®, ECMO, and Centrimag™ systems, we have extensive experience in supporting children with acute heart failure due to conditions such as myocarditis through their critical illness until cardiac recovery allows for successful explant.
The incredible durability and portability of the Heartmate 3™ device has also allowed for implantation as a means of destination therapy in 4 adolescents over the last 2 years, including 3 with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The extraordinary care provided by our multidisciplinary team of physicians and nurse practitioners, among others, has allowed for these patients to resume their normal daily activities at home after implantation.