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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:722-723
© 2005 Elsevier Science NL

Case report

Near fatal infection of a patient with a left ventricular assist device due to unrecognized fetal death

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Str. 33, D-48149 Münster, Germany

Received 29 April 2004; accepted 3 January 2005.

^* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 251 835 7412; fax: +49 251 834 8316. (E-mail: schmid{at}uni-muenster.de).

We report on an unusual case of a young female patient who received an implantable LVAD after unsuccessful emergency coronary bypass surgery following acute myocardial infarction. After LVAD placement, it became evident that the patient had been pregnant. She had to undergo gynaecological surgery during mechanical support to remove the deceased fetus.

Key Words: Heart failure • Pregnancy • LVAD • Sepsis