Study Design and Patient Characteristics
This study was approved by the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Institutional Review Board. A retrospective review was performed of all
patients who received LVAD implantation, with either HM3 LVAD or
primarily with the HeartWare HVAD System, in the Cardiothoracic Surgery
division at the University of Wisconsin between June 2018 to June 2020.
Patients undergoing an operation for LVAD pump exchange were excluded
from the study. Medical records were reviewed for patient demographics,
cardiac surgery history, surgical approach to LVAD implantation
(sternotomy vs. BT), past medical history, preoperative right heart
catheterization, preoperative ejection fraction, INTERMACS profile, need
for preoperative hemodynamic support, and postoperative hospital course.
The inflow cannula angle was measured by one reviewer (EMS) on the first
chest radiograph available postoperatively using the angle measurement
tool within the Change Healthcare Radiology
SolutionsTM PACS system. The angle was recorded as the
line above the horizontal plane, and the horizontal plane was measured
from a line visually fitted to the vertebral bodies (Figure 1). The
measurements were validated by a board-certified chest radiologist
(ESK).