News From Transplant Week of October 21, 2001 / Vol. 2 No. 42

 

Man in 70s Becomes World's 4th Recipient of Artificial Heart at UCLA
 


A man in his 70s has become the world's fourth recipient of a self-contained artificial heart at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The patient, whose name was not released, was described as resting comfortably after the 11-hour procedure in which an AbioCor replacement heart was implanted in his chest.

"The operation went exceptionally well and the artificial heart is functioning beautifully," said Dr. Hillel Laks, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine.

The first AbioCor heart was implanted July 2 into Bob Tools, then 58, at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky. The second operation, also at Jewish Hospital on Sept. 13, saw the AbioCor implanted into Tom Christerson, 70. The third operation was Sept. 26 at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston.

All three patients previously have been reported doing well.

The AbioCor heart, manufactured by Abiomed Inc., of Danvers, Mass., is intended for use in patients with end-stage heart failure who are too ill to be eligible for donor heart transplants.

The AbioCor study is initially limited to five people nationwide. Other approved sites include Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, both in Boston.

Other sources: Abiomed

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