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Is it safe to irradiate the newest generation of ventricular assist devices? A case report and systematic literature review
Author(s) -
Spano Giancarlo,
Stutz Emanuel,
Elicin Olgun,
Hugi Beate,
Henzen Dominik,
Fürholz Monika,
Wieser Monika,
Rhyner Daniel,
Dobner Stephan,
PavlicekBahlo Maryam,
Robson Desiree,
Nadel James,
Hayward Christopher,
Hunziker Lukas,
Martinelli Michele,
Schnegg Bruno
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
artificial organs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1525-1594
pISSN - 0160-564X
DOI - 10.1111/aor.13612
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , concomitant , multidisciplinary team , intensive care medicine , surgery , nursing
An increasing number of mechanical assist devices, especially left ventricular assist devices (VADs), are being implanted for prolonged periods and as destination therapy. Some VAD patients require radiotherapy due to concomitant oncologic morbidities, including thoracic malignancies. This raises the potential of VAD malfunction via radiation‐induced damage. So far, only case reports and small case series on radiotherapy have been published, most of them on HeartMate II (HMII, Abbott, North Chicago, IL, USA). Significantly, the effects of irradiation on the HeartMate 3 (HM3, Abbott) remain undefined, despite the presence of controller components engineered within the pump itself. We report the first case of a patient with a HM3 who successfully underwent stereotactic hypofractionated radiotherapy due to an early‐stage non‐small‐cell lung cancer. The patient did not suffer from any complications, including toxicity or VAD malfunction. Based on this case report and on published literature, we think that performing radiotherapy after VAD implantation with the aid of a multidisciplinary team could be performed, but more in vitro studies and cases series are needed to reinforce this statement.