Preliminary study to the development of a right ventricular assist device for the patients with univentricular heart: an animal model

Children with univentricular pathologies in whom a biventricular repair is impossible can survive with a palliative repair. Thereafter, only a Fontan correction or a heart-lung transplantation can be proposed. But, we believe that an implantable VAD could palliate the lack of organ for transplantation. We decided to explore the possibility of a definitive RVAD in the pulmonary circulation in the situation of univentricular heart. The aim of the present study was to test in this situation if a pulsatile or non-pulsatile device had different effects on pulmonary vascular reactivity.