Surgical Management of Extensive Perinatal Myocardial Infarction

Extensive perinatal myocardial infarction caused by coronary artery thrombosis is extremely rare and has a dismal prognosis. We report a 3.5-kg neonate who presented at birth with an extensive myocardial infarction caused by aortic root and left main coronary artery thrombus after an emergency cesarean section. We performed emergency surgical thrombectomy and insertion of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. After subsequent conversion to long-term left ventricular assist device with an EXCOR device (Berlin Heart, Berlin, Germany), the patient had no ventricular recovery after 163 days of support. He was successfully bridged to transplantation.