Successful management of fulminant myocarditis with left ventricular assist device: report of a severe case.

We report a 65-year-old man with fulminant myocarditis undergoing percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) and left ventricular assist device (LVAD). PCPS and intra-aortic balloon pumping was initially introduced for cardiogenic shock in the emergency department. We switched to LVAD because cardiac function did not recover despite PCPS for 5 days. Cardiac function then gradually improved, and the device was successfully weaned after 11 days of the LVAD support. He was discharged on postoperative day 63 with no complications. We here report the appropriate timing of LVAD application for fulminant myocarditis.