HeartMate-II left ventricular assist device infections resulting from gastrointestinal-tract fistulas

Driveline erosion of the colon as a late complication of LVAD implantation

A 69-year-old man with ischemic cardiomyopathy underwent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation as destination therapy. One month after LVAD placement, the patient reported abdominal pain with driveline site purulence. Serial wound and blood cultures were positive for various Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Abdominal imaging revealed a possible intracolonic course of the driveline at the splenic flexure, but there were no imaging findings suggestive of bowel perforation. A colonoscopy did not identify a perforation. The patient was treated with antibiotics but continued to experience driveline infections over the next 9 months until frank stool started draining from the driveline exit site. Our case illustrates driveline erosion of the colon causing the insidious formation of an enterocutaneous fistula and highlights a rare late complication of LVAD therapy.

Learning objective

Colonic erosion by the driveline can cause enterocutaneous fistula formation over a period of months. A change from typical infectious organisms for driveline infection should prompt investigation of a gastrointestinal source. In cases where computed tomography of the abdomen does not show perforation and there is concern for an intracolonic course of the driveline, colonoscopy or laparoscopy may be diagnostic.

Pneumopericardium suggesting left ventricular assist device-related gastrointestinal complication

We report an uncommon case of ventricular assist device-related infection and resultant fistula formation into the gastrointestinal tract. A 69-year-old man, who had undergone implantation of a HeartMate II 1 year earlier secondary to ischemic cardiomyopathy, presented to our hospital with a high fever. Computed tomography showed unusual gas collection around the heart apex (i.e., pneumopericardium), which had not been detected before. The patient developed sudden melena with fresh blood without abdominal symptoms 1 month after beginning antibiotic therapy. Emergent colonoscopy showed that the HeartMate II strain relief of the inflow conduit had penetrated the transverse colon. We immediately performed laparoscopy-assisted left-sided hemicolectomy and found intraoperatively that a fistula had formed between the splenic flexure and the pericardial cavity. Subsequently, the HeartMate II system was totally explanted and replaced with an Impella 5.0 for alternative hemodynamic support. In our patient, pneumopericardium might have been an early sign of a hidden gastrointestinal complication. Our experience is a caution for clinicians who manage patients with ventricular assist device support via the apex.