Background: Balloon dilation and stenting of the atrial septum are techniques used to unload left heart cavities in acute or end-stage heart failure in children. However, they carry significant risks such as tamponade or device embolization.
Case presentation: We report the first case of a child with an end-stage mitochondrial cardiomyopathy on a venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenator as a bridge to heart transplant where an atrial flow regulator device has been implanted.
Conclusions: This case illustrates the feasibility and safety of atrial flow regulator implantation in this setting. This procedure allowed to wean inotropic support while awaiting heart transplantation.
Keywords: Atrial flow regulator; acute heart failure; case report; end-stage mitochondrial cardiomyopathy; venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenator.
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