Late sequelae of left ventricular assist device infection presenting after heart transplant.

The long-term use of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is becoming more common among the end-stage heart failure population. At the time of heart transplantation, most of the LVAD is removed, but some of its components might be retained. Retained LVAD prosthetic material can lead to serious infection post heart transplant. We report 4 such cases. Our goal is to highlight the importance of complete prosthetic material removal at the time of cardiac transplant to prevent late-onset infection, especially in patients with preceding infection, but also in patients without evidence of LVAD infection prior to orthotopic heart transplantation.