Medical Discharge

Conditions of the patient, 67 years old, made impossible received a transplant and October 12, opted for the implant. In Europe and EE UU about 6,500 people have benefited from this technique. The surgery of the Hospital service 12 October has implanted a permanent artificial heart successfully. The operator is Pedro Antonio Perez Garcia, 67, who has been discharged on Monday. It is the prime beneficiary of this type of intervention in Spain.

More than 6,500 patients in the United States and Europe have benefited from this system with a few superior clinical results with respect to other devices, reducing the risk of infection, thrombosis and hemolysis – rupture of RBCs or erythrocytes-. The patient suffered from a dilated cardiomyopathy – heart muscle was not capable of effectively collapsed-, due to a prior heart attack and not was heart transplant candidate to present simultaneously non-reversible renal failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD-moderate. Their functional status before the intervention was limit. After the operation he stayed four days entered and he was transferred to the plant of hospitalization of Cardiology, where he initiated the mobilization, rehabilitation and learning the operation of the device being discharged within 30 days of the implant. Details of the device the device used in the October 12 consists of an axial flow pump powered form electromagnetic and composed by a pump, cannulas of input and output, and a control unit. This pump drives the blood from the apex of the left ventricle – the tip of the heart – to the aorta. The turbine that contains rotated at a speed of between 6,000 and 15,000 revolutions per minute and can provide 8 to 10 liters of continuous flow per minute.

The entire device is located inside the patient and just one cable crosses the skin to connect it with the control unit, which operates through the mains power or two batteries that allow you an approximate autonomy of 12 hours. Once implanted not accurate calibrations or subsequent technical adjustments. The conditions of the patient, 67 years old, made it impossible to that he received a transplant. In Europe and EE UU about 6,500 people have benefited from this technique. Source of the news: the first person receives medical discharge in Spain with a permanent artificial heart