Imagine
living without a heart. It is possible — if you have a new artificial
heart pumping blood through your body. You can even go to the
supermarket, watch your kid's soccer game or go on a hike.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has performed its first procedure to remove a patient's diseased heart and replace it with a SynCardia Temporary Total Artificial Heart.
Chad
Washington, 35, underwent the seven-hour transplant surgery at UCLA on
Oct. 29, led by Dr. Murray Kwon, an assistant professor of
cardiothoracic surgery.
The temporary pump will act as a "bridge" until Washington receives a new donor heart.
"Historically,
patients with a total artificial heart had to remain hospitalized while
they waited for a transplant because they were tethered to a large
machine to power the device," Kwon said. "Today, however, this device
can be powered by advanced technology small enough to fit in a
backpack."
"It sounds like a loud grandfather clock going
'tick-tock' in my chest, but it doesn't feel foreign. It's there to
help," Washington said of the artificial heart. "I'm so glad to be
living in an age where technology is moving so fast."
Thankfully, the artificial heart offered hope.
"By
removing the patient's diseased donor heart, we removed the source of
his end-stage heart failure," said Dr. Ali Nsair, an assistant professor
of cardiology at UCLA. "The total artificial heart — and being off
immunosuppressant medications — allows his body to recover and get ready
for a heart transplant in a few months."
Dr. Mario Deng, a
professor of cardiology and medical director of the UCLA Advanced Heart
Failure/Mechanical Support/Heart Transplant Program added that since the
pump's energy source is portable, Washington can go home and resume
normal activities with his family while he waits for a new heart.
"This
ability to be at home with family is an important element in helping
the patient to maintain a positive outlook during the waiting period,"
Deng said.
Approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2004,
the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart
ventricles and the four heart valves. It works by providing a high
volume of blood-flow through both ventricles, which helps to speed the
recovery of vital organs and make the patient a better candidate for
transplant surgery.
Once the total artificial heart is implanted,
it is connected by two small air tubes known as "drivelines" to a large
external driver that powers the heart while the patient remains
hospitalized. When the patient's condition stabilizes post-operatively,
he or she can be switched over to the smaller 13.5-pound Freedom
portable driver, which can be carried in a backpack, thus giving the
patient the freedom to leave the hospital.
"This technology
offers a lifeline for patients who are in severe heart failure and
dying," said Dr. Richard J. Shemin, professor and chair of
cardiothoracic surgery at UCLA and surgical director of the UCLA
Mechanical Circulatory Support Program. "These patients have run out of
medical options and require a heart transplant. The total artificial
heart offers advantages over other devices used for mechanical support
of patients awaiting a heart transplant. With the new Freedom driver for
powering the device, the patients can leave the hospital, live at home
and undergo rehabilitation, improving their clinical condition and
quality of life as they await their transplant."
Originally used
as a permanent replacement heart, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart is
currently approved as a bridge to transplant for people dying from
end-stage biventricular heart failure. There have been more than 1,000
implants of the Total Artificial Heart worldwide, accounting for more
than 270 patient-years of life. The wearable driver is currently
undergoing an U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved investigational
device exemption clinical study. For more information, visit www.syncardia.com.
The
UCLA Mechanical Circulatory Support Program, directed by Dr. Richard
Shemin, professor and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at UCLA, and Dr.
Mario Deng, professor of cardiology and medical director of the advanced
heart failure/mechanical support/heart transplant program, began in the
early 1990s. Its primary mission is to provide cardiac support devices
to patients while they await heart transplantation and to serve the
rapidly growing heart failure population requiring lifetime mechanical
circulatory support. For more information on the mechanical circulatory
program and the heart transplant program at UCLA.
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