Ventricular assist device use in congenital heart disease with a comparison to heart transplant

Despite advances in medical and surgical therapies, some children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are not able to be adequately treated or palliated, leading them to develop progressive heart failure. As these patients progress to end-stage heart failure they pose a unique set of challenges. Heart transplant remains the standard of care; the donor pool, however, remains limited. Following the experience from the adult realm, the pediatric ventricular assist device (VAD) has emerged as a valid treatment option as a bridge to transplant. Due to the infrequent necessity and the uniqueness of each case, the pediatric VAD in the CHD population remains a topic with limited information. Given the experience in the adult realm, we were tasked with reviewing pediatric VADs and their use in patients with CHD and comparing this therapy to heart transplantation when possible.