Jerome Crowley, MD: Early Experience with Impella RP Flex™ with SmartAssist®
Jerome Crowley, MD, MPH, discusses his early experience with the Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist. He explains that Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist is easy to place and is forgiving in patients with torturous anatomy. He highlights that internal jugular placement enables patients to be ambulatory, facilitating bridging to durable LVADs or heart transplant if needed. “One of the real benefits we have seen with our early experience of right ventricular assist devices like the RP Flex is that we can place it early and avoid the need for emergent venoarterial ECMO.” Dr. Crowley also discusses systemic and purge solution anticoagulant strategies, shares insights on venous site access management and the internal jugular approach and discusses weaning protocols and strategies for right-side support devices.
