A 31-year-old woman with a HeartWareTM (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which had been implanted for ischaemic cardiomyopathy, presented with progressive dyspnoea. Bilateral pneumonia was suspected. Despite antibiotic treatment, the patient’s condition deteriorated: she became more dyspnoeic and developed cardiogenic shock with a low LVAD flow. Computed tomography angiography showed an intraluminal focal outflow graft stenosis. In a multidisciplinary team discussion, the patient was scheduled for an emergency percutaneous intervention via a femoral approach to avoid surgery, based on previous reports [1,2,3]. Angiography confirmed the stenosis, with an invasive peak-peak gradient of 80 mm Hg (Fig. 1a). This was treated with an Advanta V12 balloon-expandable covered stent (10 mm × 38 mm) and post-dilated with an Advance balloon (10 mm × 20 mm), resulting in a residual gradient of 10 mm Hg and an immediate increase in LVAD flow (Fig. 1b). The patient recovered uneventfully after this procedure.
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A. Gasecka, M. Voskuil, E.E.C. de Waal, M.I.F.J. Oerlemans, F. Ramjankhan, L.W. van Laake and A.O. Kraaijeveld declare that they have no competing interests.
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Gasecka, A., Voskuil, M., de Waal, E.E.C. et al. A routine intervention in a highly unusual vessel. Neth Heart J 30, 182–183 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12471-021-01635-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12471-021-01635-x