Telecardiographic measurements for device migration: A useful tool for follow-up

Pump thrombosis in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Inflow cannula migration is a predisposing factor for pump thrombosis. Telecardiographic measurements can be used to follow up apical cannula deviation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the migration of the inflow cannulas in patients with LVADs using angle measurements on telecardiograms. Twenty-three patients who were implanted left ventricular assist devices in our clinic between February 2013 and April 2016 were included in our study. During the first year of follow-up, changes in angle measurements on postoperative 1 , 3 , 6 , and 12 month telecardiograms were compared against the incidence of device thrombus and serum Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Patients who were diagnosed with device thrombosis had more change in inflow cannula angles than patients without device thrombus (p