Mechanical support options for children and small adolescents with acute left ventricular failure are often limited to extracorporeal life support (ECLS) and subsequent left ventricular assist device implantation. We report a case of a 3-year-old child weighing 12 kg with acute humoral rejection after cardiac transplantation not adequately responding to medical therapy who presented in persistent low cardiac output syndrome. We successfully stabilized the patient by implanting a Impella 2.5 device via a 6-mm Hemashield prosthesis on the right axillary artery. The patient was bridged to recovery.
Keywords: cardiogenic shock; ECLS; Impella; mechanical support; pediatric.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.