Objective: To discuss whether balloon atrial septostomy(BAS) can provide safe and effective left ventricular venting for
venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO).
Methods: From March 2017 to January 2019, 9
patients received BAS for left ventricular venting during V-A
ECMO treatment in our
hospital , including 5
males and 4
females ,
aged 12-72 years. There were 3 cases of severe
myocarditis , 4 cases of
low cardiac output after
cardiac surgery , and 2 cases of acute
myocardial infarction . Basic data,
procedure data, outcome and follow-up were recorded.
Results: BAS were successfully performed in 9
patients .
Procedure time on average was 42.2 min. Anterior mediastinal
hematoma occurred in 1 case. There were no other
procedure -related
complications in the
rest cases. No
pulmonary edema or
thrombosis occurred in all 9 cases during ECMO. No closure
procedure was performed.
Conclusion: BAS is a safe and effective
method for left ventricular venting. The
procedure is conductive to the recovery of
patients with severe left
heart failure .