An implantable blood pump (110) system includes a blood pump housing (120) and a mounting cuff (150). The blood pump housing at least partially contains a pump drive system adapted to transfer blood from an interior chamber of a heart (20) and return the blood to a circulatory system. The blood pump housing includes an inlet port (130) adapted to provide a passage for the flow of blood from the interior chamber of the heart into an interior space of the pump housing and an outlet port (135) adapted to provide a passage for the flow of blood from the interior space of the pump housing to the circulatory system. The blood pump housing includes a first external surface adjacent to the inlet port and a second external surface adjacent to the first external surface. The first external surface is adapted to be implanted substantially adjacent to an outer surface of an epicardium of the heart. The second external surface at least partially defines an outside perimeter of the pump housing. The mounting cuff is adapted to mechanically couple to the second external surface and to the epicardium of the heart. The mounting cuff can allow for the placement of the pump against the epicardium without a gap, thus minimizing the effective size of the pump. The mounting cuff can also provide a mechanical advantage to the attachment and consequently greater resistance to myocardial trauma.
