Successful bridge through transplantation with berlin heart ventricular assist device in a child with failing fontan.

In patients with failed Fontan circulation, end-stage heart failure can develop or Fontan physiology failure requiring transplantation. Experience with ventricular assist device support for these patients as a bridge to heart transplantation has been limited and often not resulted in successful hospital discharge. We report the successful use of the Berlin Heart EXCOR (Berlin Heart, The Woodlands, TX) ventricular assist device in bridging a child with Fontan circulation and systolic dysfunction to heart transplantation and discharge home.