Anesthetic Considerations for Minimally Invasive, Off-Pump, HeartMate III Implantation

Objective: The authors developed and utilized an anesthetic protocol for the management of an off-pump approach for minimally invasive Heartmate III (HM3) implantation. Their goal was to determine if this method was safe and feasible for patients with in-situ mechanical support.

Design: The authors performed a retrospective study of consecutive patients undergoing off-pump HM3 implantation via bilateral minithoracotomies.

Setting: This was a single-institution study at the University of Rochester Medical Center, using the same cardiac anesthesiologist and cardiac surgeon pair.

Participants: The authors studied 8 consecutive patients undergoing off-pump HM3 implantation from June 2019 to July 2020.

Interventions: The authors developed an anesthetic management protocol for off-pump HM3 implantation via bilateral minithoracotomies.

Measurements and main results: As a result, the authors evaluated 88% of men with a mean age of 55.0 ±13.0 years. The median time to extubation was 19.7 hours, with a median intensive care unit length of stay of 6.5 days. Fifty percent of patients required blood transfusions during the first 24 hours after surgery (postoperative), and 63% of patients were free from all postoperative complications. No patients required a right ventricular assist device. The mean hospital stay was 26.3 ± 11.3 days, with an 88% survival to discharge.

Conclusion: In this single-center study, the authors have described the anesthetic consideration for the implantation of the HM3 left ventricular assist device using a complete sternal-sparing technique without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Their results have shown, in a case series of 8 patients, that this is a safe and feasible alternative to traditional techniques in patients with existing mechanical support.