US surgeons implant new artificial heart

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7304.66/a

BMJ 2001;323:66 ( 14 July )

News

US surgeons implant new artificial heart

Deborah Josefson, San Francisco
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The first fully self contained artificial heart has been successfully implanted into a man with end stage heartfailure.

The artificial heart is a technological breakthrough and gives hope to patients awaiting a human heart, as supply is limited.The recipient, an unidentified man in his 50s had end stage ischaemiccardiomyopathy, diabetes, and renal failure and was deemed ineligiblefor a human hearttransplant.

The implantation was performed at the Jewish Hospital of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, by a team of 14, led by DrsLaman Gray and Robert Dowling. The team removed most of the recipient'sheart and attached the synthetic heart to the remnants of theatria and to the aorta and pulmonaryarteries.

Unlike a human heart, the artificial heart first delivers blood systemically and then pumps blood to the lungs for oxygenation.The mechanical heart, known as the Abiocor, is composed of titaniumand plastic, . . . [Full text of this article]