Bridging to Orthotopic Heart Transplant: Reducing the Risk of Intra-Operative Blood Loss
Orthotopic heart transplantation remains the gold standard for patients with end-stage heart failure. Many devices exist to bridge patients with heart failure to transplant. Impella 5.5 (Abiomed, Danvers MA) is an example of a temporary mechanical assist device, which prioritizes patients as Status 2 by the 2018 UNOS policy change, increasing their likelihood of transplantation. Given the increase in device use, we sought to compare intra-operative complications, particularly blood loss, between bridging strategies to transplantation.
