Long-term outcomes of patients bridged to recovery versus patients bridged to transplantation

Objective: The proportion of patients who can be bridged with left ventricular assist devices to myocardial recovery and the long-term outcome of these patients is unknown. Methods: We investigated the outcomes of patients bridged to recovery compared with those bridged to transplantation. All left ventricular assist devices were implanted as a bridge to transplantation with a very proactive program of promoting myocardial recovery. A total of 40 patients were bridged to recovery and 52 to transplantation. Of the bridged to recovery (explanted) group, 33 were men (age, 32.8 +/- 11.8 years), 37 had dilated cardiomyopathy (familial in 3, peripartum cardiomyopathy in 3) and 3 had myocarditis. Of the bridged to transplantation (transplanted) group, 42 were men (age, 42.3 +/- 12.5 years; P < .0005 vs bridged to recovery). The diagnosis was ischemic heart disease in 24, dilated cardiomyopathy in 21 (only 13 received drug therapy), hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in 2, arrythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia in 2, myocarditis in 1, and congestive heart disease in 2. Results: The survival rate was 89.9%, 73.9%, and 73.9% and 80.4%, 78.3, and 78.3% in the explanted and transplanted groups at 1, 5, and 7 years, respectively. In total, 12 (23%) patients bridged transplantation either died from, or required ventricular assist device support, for primary graft failure. Of the explanted patients, 4 (10%) subsequently required transplantation at 34, 512, 1019, and 1213 days (2 died 25 and 1867 days after transplantation and 2 were well after 1523 and 3199 days). The rate of transplant or ventricular assist device-free survival less noncardiac death for the bridged to recovery and bridged to transplantation groups, respectively, was 89.9%, 73.9%, and 73.9% and 80.4%, 78.3%, and 78.3% at 1, 3, and 7 years. At latest follow-up (1394 +/- 1195 days for the bridged to recovery and 1913 +/- 941 days for the bridged to transplantation group), 5 of the bridged to transplantation patients (9.6%) had malignancy, 34 (65.4%) had hypercholesterolemia, 25 (48.1%) had hypertension, and 7 (13.5%) had coronary disease. The creatinine was 125.5 +/- 43.5 vs 95.2 +/- 16.5 mu mol/L for the bridged to transplantation and bridged to recovery groups (P < .001). Conclusions: The outcome after explantation for myocardial recovery is comparable, if not better than, after bridge to transplantation. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2012;144:190-6)