Patient Stories

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Performs Successful Implant of Children’s Heart Pump

The Chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital along with the Heart Team, successfully implanted a child with the first miniaturized heart pump for children. This is the second time this has been done with this particular device, and the patient is the longest survivor after receiving the device at this time.

There is no implantable heart pump device in this country that is allocated to children. In the past, cardiovascular surgeons have had to juggle adult pump devices which sit outside the body, or the child has been placed on a heart/lung bypass machine (ECMO). The DeBakey VAD Child, manufactured by MicroMed Technology, Inc., was designed to improve blood flow for children ages 5 to 16 who are awaiting a heart transplant. This particular ventricular assist device (VAD) will allow many patients to walk around and some may even return home while awaiting a transplant.

The first patient to receive the DeBakey VAD Child at Arkansas Children’s Hospital is 14-year-old Travis Marcus of Cabot, Arkansas, formerly of Wisconsin. Travis was born with transposition of the great vessels and has undergone two heart surgical procedures and received three pacemakers. September 5, he was brought to Arkansas Children’s Hospital because of a high heart rate and doctors soon learned that high heart rate was not due to a pacemaker malfunction, but that the left side of his heart had stopped functioning. Travis was placed on the list for transplant, but deteriorated so rapidly he had to be placed on a heart/lung machine (ECMO) in order to keep him alive. Thirty-six hours later, he underwent a complex surgery that entailed repair of his heart valves, extraction of the failed pacing system and implantation of the DeBakey VAD.

Travis is a high risk candidate for the procedure. It’s a relatively new device and he is a complex patient with a complex diagnosis.

These life altering decisions come just a few months after the Marcus family moved to Cabot from Wisconsin. They were unfamiliar with Arkansas, unfamiliar with Arkansas Children’s Hospital and unfamiliar with Heart Team's outstanding reputation.

“As soon as people in Cabot learned our son was a heart patient, they started telling us about Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Heart Team there,” says Sheri Marcus. “At first, I was nervous coming to Arkansas Children’s Hospital since all of Travis’ care has taken place in Wisconsin, but after being in the hospital for five minutes, I knew this was where we had to be for our son.” Sheri and her husband, Rick, are thankful for the opportunity with new technology – that wasn’t an option even three months ago.

“The biggest thing in my mind was, I hope it works – and it has,” says Rick Marcus. “The VAD gives us the opportunity to wait for a heart and the opportunity to be selective. This way we can be sure we get the right heart and don’t have to take the chances of a mis-match. That will give other children on the transplant list the opportunity to get a heart, too.” Without the VAD, Travis likely would have been placed on a heart/lung bypass machine (ECMO), limiting his time to wait for a new heart, and taking a stronger toll on his body.

Travis continues to get stronger, with daily physical therapy and laps around the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) which he charts on a dry erase board near the nurse’s station. He is escorted by a grand remote control Hummer, a surprise gift. After laps around the unit, his doctor orders some relaxation time for Travis, who now has the alternative of an oversized recliner moved straight from his surgeon's office. The fondness between surgeon and patient is more than evident.

The Heart Team began efforts to bring the DeBakey VAD Child to Arkansas Children's Hospital more than a year ago, realizing the need for such a tool based on the number of patients who are treated in the Arkansas Children’s Heart Center which is one of the largest and most reputable transplant centers in the United States. The success of the transplant program, and the presence of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation system (ECMO), or heart/lung bypass machine, were requirements for receiving the DeBakey VAD device. Few pediatric hospitals in the United States received the device, and the team made sure they were prepared, in the event a patient at Arkansas Children’s Hospital was in need. The entire team of cardiologists, intensivists and nurses trained every week for the past year.

Everybody was 100 percent confident of their role in this after dry run after dry run. Those dry runs were executed like a military operation and it paid off because the day Travis needed the DeBakey, everything went seamlessly.

The DeBakey VAD Child is the first VAD approved by the FDA for use in children. The 1”x3” pump weighs only 4 ounces and is silent in operation, utilizing the same technology of the implantable adult pump, also manufactured by MicroMed Technology, Inc. Designed in collaboration with NASA, the Baylor College of Medicine and Drs. Michael DeBakey and George Noon, the DeBakey VAD is intended for end-stage heart failure patients who can no longer provide necessary blood flow with their native heart. More than 240 DeBakey VADs have been implanted in adults worldwide.

“As long as he’s on this device, he’s stable,” said his cheif surgeon. He’s walking around and feeding himself and his organs are recovering and getting stronger which will make his body more prepared for a transplant when we get the right heart.” Although there is no prediction as to when a heart will be available, but the team is confident that Travis will receive the right heart. He also believes this revolutionary pump will, at some point, become a standard of care for pediatric heart patients and stimulate research to develop an even smaller device for even younger patients.

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