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Bleeding complications are a major source of morbidity and reoperation after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, yet remain poorly characterized in patients receiving LVADs. We assessed bleeding complications in an institutional cohort of LVAD patients.

We reviewed patients who received continuous-flow (CF) LVADs at our institution (October 2004 to May 2009). Intraoperative and postoperative transfusion requirements (packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets), chest tube output, and reoperation for bleeding complications were assessed. Univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis assessed the impact of intraoperative bleeding on mortality. A subset of our patient population underwent delayed sternal closure as opposed to primary closure and an analysis of reoperation for bleeding was undertaken stratifying patients by approach to …