{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T03:21:57Z","timestamp":1792034517756,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,29]],"date-time":"2025-11-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764374400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCDD"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Ventricular assist devices serve as a critical bridge to transplantation for pediatric patients with end-stage heart failure. This study evaluated the outcomes of pediatric patients who received Berlin Heart EXCOR support for end-stage heart failure. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 11 consecutive pediatric patients (63.64% male, median age 60 months) who underwent Berlin Heart implantation from November 2021 to April 2025. The majority (90.90%) had dilated cardiomyopathy, and 72.73% were INTERMACS class I. Results: Of the 11 patients, 54.54% received an LVAD only, 36.36% received a BiVAD, and 9.09% required an LVAD followed by an RVAD. The postoperative mean ICU stay was 140 \u00b1 73 days, and total hospital stay was 192 \u00b1 96 days. Significant post-implant complications included stroke (27.27%), bleeding requiring exploration (27.27%), and pneumonia (36.36%). Ten patients (90.91%) were successfully bridged to heart transplantation, with one pre-transplant mortality (9.09%) due to brain hemorrhage. The median time to transplantation was 88 days (interquartile range, IQR: 78\u2013177). During a median follow-up of 17 months (IQR: 7\u201332), two patients died post-transplant, resulting in an overall survival rate of 67.50% at 3 years. Conclusions: Despite significant complications and prolonged hospitalization, the Berlin Heart demonstrated effectiveness as a mechanical circulatory support device for pediatric patients, with a high rate of successful bridging to transplantation and acceptable mid-term survival. These findings support its use as a viable bridge to transplantation in pediatric end-stage heart failure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcdd12120465","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T16:47:37Z","timestamp":1764780457000},"page":"465","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Berlin Heart EXCOR as a Bridge to Transplantation in Pediatric End-Stage Heart Failure: A Retrospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Mohannad","family":"Dawary","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiac Surgery, Heart Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh 13338, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5101-6905","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimpna","family":"Brotons","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7444-7724","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Felix W.","family":"Tsai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"459","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cardfail.2012.03.001","article-title":"Prevalence, Morbidity, and Mortality of Heart Failure-Related Hospitalizations in Children in the United States: A Population-Based Study","volume":"18","author":"Rossano","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. 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Heart Lung Transplant."}],"container-title":["Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2308-3425\/12\/12\/465\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T14:17:53Z","timestamp":1764944273000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2308-3425\/12\/12\/465"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,29]]},"references-count":27,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}},"alternative-id":["jcdd12120465"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcdd12120465","relation":{},"ISSN":["2308-3425"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2308-3425","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,29]]}}}