Impella 5.0

In a world’s first, surgeons at the MUHC, led by Dr. Renzo Cecere, recently implanted a minimally-invasive cardiac support system, called the Impella 5.0, into a patient suffering from acute rejection after a heart transplant. The life-saving operation allowed the patient’s condition to stabilize and respond to anti-rejection medications.

The groundbreaking technology used by Dr. Cecere consists of catheters that are surgically inserted into the heart. Once installed, the Impella’s pumps work to reduce the heart’s workload and oxygen consumption while increasing cardiac output by doing the heart’s job, achieving blood flows of up to 5.0 liters per minute.

As Dr. Cecere’s work has proved, the Impella can provide effective and adequate support for high-risk surgery patients, as well as patients presenting with marginal cardiac output as well as severe cardiogenic shock. It also provides surgeons with a potent, minimally invasive, circulatory support system while they perform cutting-edge procedures.

This series is intended to be informative. The McGill University Health Centre Foundation does not endorse any particular manufacturer or model of the equipment shown and described here.