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Background. The data presented are a brief summary of The International Registry for Mechanical Ventricular Assist Pumps and Artificial Hearts and a summary of the personal experience of the Minnesota Thoracic Associates at the Minneapolis Heart Institute with the use of the Sarns centrifugal pump from May 1985 to September 1994. Methods. Ventricular support with the use of centrifugal pumps for postcardiotomy shock consisted of cannulation of the left atrium and aorta for left ventricular support and the right atrium and pulmonary artery for right ventricular support, or the combination of the two for biventricular support. Results. The average survival and discharge rate recorded by the National Registry for postcardiotomy syndrome was 25.3%. Our experience at Minnesota Thoracic Associates was 54%. The National Registry reported 45.7% of the patients being weaned from the device or receiving transplants and 25.3% of the patients ultimately discharged from the hospital. Sixty-five percent of the patients in our experience either were weaned from the device or received a transplant for an overall discharge rate of 42%. The average effective hospital cost per survivor was almost $400,000.00. Conclusions. It is our belief that when considering the cost analysis of temporary devices, one must conclude that a more economical approach for the treatment of end-stage cardiac disease would be aggressive development of a permanent ventricular assist device.