Less invasive Thoratec LVAD insertion: a surgical technique.

Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implantation is historically a complicated, invasive operation performed on critically ill patients and is often associated with bleeding and multiorgan morbidity. The purpose of this investigation was to devise an LVAD insertion technique, utilizing the concepts of less invasive cardiac surgery, that would be a less complicated operation, with low morbidity, and still meet all the goals of the standard procedure. We describe the technical details of a "less invasive" LVAD implantation.