Bridge to transplantation with a Toyobo-NCVC left ventricular assist device in a 3-year-old girl

In Japan, no pulsatile ventricular assist devices are available specifically for use in children. Pumps designed for adults are thus often used in children. We report herein a case of end-stage heart failure in a 3-year old girl (height 100.4 cm; body weight 16.2 kg; body surface area 0.66 m2) who underwent implantation with an adult-sized Toyobo-NCVC left ventricular assist device (Toyobo-National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan) in our unit. We started with the driving mode to "full-fill, full-empty" mode. The problem was difficult-to-treat hypertension due to excessive stroke volume induced by the left ventricular assist device. Aggressive administration of antihypertensive therapy was needed. Successful heart transplantation was performed in Germany 5 months after beginning support with the Toyobo-NCVC left ventricular assist device.