The Hemopump as a left ventricular assist device in pediatric applications: initial Canadian applications.

Three children aged 11 months, and eight and nine years were supported with a Hemopump as a potentially life saving measure for circulatory failure. Left ventricular assist time ranged from 10 to 32 h. None of the three patients could be successfully weaned from the device because of complications of bleeding, arrhythmia or neurological insult. Despite poor outcomes, each patient demonstrated important hemodynamic stabilization with the device. The Hemopump is suggested as a potentially life saving treatment modality for selected pediatric patients who have critical left ventricular failure.