Patient’s Ventricles Removed as Bridge to Heart Transplant

“Brian Pedigo was originally referred to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), but the 41-year-old’s condition deteriorated rapidly.

He was experiencing intractable ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation and going into cardiogenic shock. With both ventricles in bad shape, his team of cardiologists couldn’t just put in an LVAD. On top of that, Pedigo’s thin frame and the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to support him in the ICU meant he likely wasn’t a candidate for an FDA-approved total artificial heart.”

Read the full article, here.