Ten-year survival with HeartMate-II in situs viscerum inversus

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) could provide today an elegant solution to all those complex anatomical scenarios and pathophysiologies of patients affected by congenital diseases, sometimes allowing long-lasting and consistent results as an alternative to heart transplantation. We present a case of a 58-year-old man affected by situs viscerum inversus totalis (SVIT) and dextrocardia who was implanted with LVAD HeartMate-II (Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, CA, USA) in 2009. The main intraoperative differences were in the rightward position of the inflow cannula on the apex, the outflow anastomosis to the left of the ascending aorta and driveline tunnelling in the right upper abdominal quadrant.