|
|
Article: Patient receives wireless artificial heart: ; First device only expected to extend life by a month
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- July 4, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A patient on the brink of death has received
the world's first self-contained artificial heart - a battery-
powered device the size of a softball that runs without the need for
wires, tubes or hoses sticking out of the chest.
Two surgeons from the University of Louisville implanted the
titanium and plastic pump during a seven-hour operation at Jewish
Hospital on Monday. The hospital said the patient was "awake and
responsive" Tuesday and resting comfortably. It refused to release
personal details.
The patient had been expected to die within a month without the
operation, and doctors said they expect the artificial heart to
extend the person's life by only about a month.
But ...