Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)

Our Program

UR Medicine is proud to be one of the five largest VAD programs in the Nation. Beginning in 2001, our program has participated in nearly every major clinical study involving ventricular assist devices.

We are also the first team in the nation to implant a VAD by using the Sternal Sparing technique. It is difficult for some people with advanced heart failure to endure traditional open surgeries—recovery is long and painful as the chest bone heals. This new technique uses two small incisions, avoiding the need to open the sternum, or “crack the chest.” Patients have shorter hospitalizations, fewer complications and less pain, all contributing to faster recovery and quicker return to their normal routine. 

Our pioneering efforts led to FDA approval which will lead to other heart centers adopting this advanced technique benefitting patients across the country.

What Is It

When neither medication nor heart transplant is an option, a VAD is a device that can help the heart function. It doesn’t replace your heart, but works with it. This finger-sized pump is implanted next to your heart and runs on a battery pack you carry on your side.

VADs dramatically improve heart failure symptoms in many patients. In fact, survival rates for patients with VADs are quickly approaching those of patients who receive heart transplants. Many of the patients the UR Medicine team has treated with VADs go one to live active lives, participating in activities like hiking, golf and camping.

These devices can also help a patient stay healthy temporarily while they wait for a donor transplant heart to become available.

How it works

• You’ll be under general anesthesia for this procedure.
• First, your surgeon will access your heart to implant the VAD.
• During the procedure, your heart will be temporarily stopped and a heart lung machine will supply your body with blood and oxygen.
• Next, the VAD is attached to your left ventricle and to your aorta, then to an external power supply.
• You’ll then be disconnected from the heart lung machine as your heart is restarted and your incision closed.
• After surgery, you’ll stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for 2-3 days, followed by a move to a regular hospital room where you work with nurses and physical therapists to recover. Most patients receiving a VAD return home within 1-2 weeks.
• You’ll need to take several medications after your implantation, such as blood thinner to prevent clots in your VAD.

Risks

There are several important risks to consider before having a VAD implanted. Your doctors will discuss all of these risks with you. Risks include:

• Blood clots
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Device malfunction
• Respiratory failure
• Kidney failure
• Stroke
• Right heart failure

Artificial Heart Technology

As one of the most experienced VAD centers in the U.S., UR Medicine offers patients the most advanced and effective VADs available today. We’ve been involved in most of the major VAD clinical trials of the past decade, and implanted over 600 VADs in recent years. We’ve developed expertise in numerous devices, including:

• Abbott CentriMag™ This pump can be used to support either/both the left and right ventricles acutely until a patient either recovers heart function or transitions to a more durable pump such as the HVAD or HeartMate 3.
• Abbott HeartMate II™ The first continuous flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) first implanted at URMC as part of a clinical trial in 2004. We have since implanted >350 of these pumps and have had a patient reach the 10 year milestone living on the HeartMate II.
• Medtronic HeartWare HVAD™ The smallest LVAD on the market which is FDA approved for both short and long term patient support. The HVAD can be implanted via the minimally invasive technique.
• Abbott HeartMate 3™ A fully magnetically levitated LVAD utilized for both short and long term support. We are the first center in the US to implant this pump using the minimally invasive technique known as Complete Sternal-Sparing (CSS).