Less Invasive Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation Is Safe and Feasible in Patients With Smaller Body Surface Area.

Objective: Smaller body surface area (BSA) frequently precludes patients from left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy. We sought to investigate the clinical outcomes in patients with small BSA undergoing less invasive LVAD implantation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 216 patients implanted with HeartMate 3 LVAD (Abbott, Chicago, IL) via less invasive surgery at our institution. Patients were dichotomized based on their preimplant BSA for comparison between small BSA (≤1.8 m) and normal/large BSA (>1.8 m). We analyzed patient perioperative characteristics and outcomes.

Results: In our study, small BSA was found in 32 patients (14.8%), while 184 patients (85.2%) had normal/large BSA. Women were more prevalent in the small BSA group (50.0% vs 13.0%, < 0.001). Preoperative and intraoperative data showed comparable results. Major complications and hospital length of stay did not differ by BSA group. Patients with smaller BSA had significantly decreased pump parameters at discharge, including LVAD flow (4.11 ± 0.49 vs 4.60 ± 0.54 L/min, < 0.001) and pump speed (5,200 vs 5,400 rpm, < 0.001). Survival to discharge and within 6 months after implantation were similar between the groups.

Conclusions: Our study results suggest that less invasive HeartMate 3 implantation can be safely performed and demonstrates equivalent outcomes in patients with smaller body habitus. Randomized trials are required to confirm our data.