Management of Cannula Wound Problems with Vacuum- Assisted Therapy for a Child Who Received Berlin Heart EXCOR Implantation

Abstract

A child being supported with an extracorporeal ventricular assist device, such as the Berlin Heart EXCOR (Berlin Heart GmbH, Berlin, Germany), must have at least 2 large cannulae for a long period. Management of cannula wounds is crucial since a cannula forms a track of prosthetic material passing the mediastinum to the heart. Deep wound complications, if they occur, can be troublesome and difficult to control with conventional methods. We applied vacuum-assisted closure to a patient who had Berlin-Heart EXCOR and a gap at the cannulation site. Herein, we describe the technical aspects of management in detail.

Keywords

• pediatric
• berlin heart
• left ventricular assist device
• cannula
• wound closure techniques