As a first patient, a man from Australia received a completely artificial heart worldwide and was able to survive more than 100 days before successfully transplanted a donor heart. The operation is considered an important medical breakthrough: they call researchers and doctors “unlimited clinical success”.
The Bivacor Total-Kunstherz was based on the Queensland Dr. Daniel Timms developed. It is the first implantable rotating blood pump system in the world that can completely replace a human heart. With the help of magnetic technology it simulates the natural blood flow of a healthy heart.
Implantation serves as a bridge
As the “guardian” reported, the implant was designed for patients with serious bilateral heart failure, which is often caused by heart attacks or coronary heart diseases. The implant serves as a bridging for patients waiting for a heart transplant, but in the long term there is hope that those affected can live permanently with the artificial pump, even without a donor organ.
Patient has voluntarily decided between intervention
The patient, a man in the 40s from New South Wales, suffered from serious heart failure and voluntarily decided the implant. In November the artificial heart was eventually used in an operation of six hours in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
After the patient was cared for in Intensive Care for a few weeks, he was released from the hospital with the implant in February – a novelty in medical history. A donor heart was finally found in March and successfully transplanted.
Cardiologist: “Will be a real alternative”
“It was a privilege to be part of this historical and groundbreaking medical progress,” said the transplant surgeon Paul Jansz. “We have worked for years and are extremely proud to be the first team in Australia that is carrying out this procedure.”
“This artificial heart is wearing a new era for heart transplants – both in Australia and worldwide,” said cardiologist Chris Hayward euphoric. “Within the following decade it will be a real alternative for patients who have to wait too long for a donor heart or where no suitable donor organ is available.”
Not as functional as donor hearts
David Colquhoun from the University of Queensland also praised technological progress. However, he warned that artificial hearts have not yet been functional as long as donor hearts last on average of more than ten years (more than 3000 days).
“This shows that it is still a long way for an artificial heart to be a complete alternative to transplantation,” said Colquhoun.
Hope for millions of heart patients
According to the Australian government, more than 23 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, but only around 6,000 receive a donor heart every year. The development of the Bivacor Art of Art can be a solution to this problem and countless patients offer a life -saving alternative.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
