News Releases
JEWISH HOSPITAL/U of L TEAM
IMPLANTS ABIOCOR
Patient is 14th in the U.S. to Receive the Device
(LOUISVILLE) – Another patient received an
AbioCor® Implantable Replacement Heart through the efforts
of a Jewish Hospital/University of Louisville team led by surgeons
Laman Gray, M.D., and Rob Dowling, M.D. The procedure took place
May 24, 2004, and lasted about 9 hours. The patient is currently
in critical but stable condition. At the request of the patient’s
family, the patient’s name and other details are not being
released.
Jewish Hospital officials and
the physicians who performed the procedure will not be available
for further comment
at this time. Updates will be provided as significant changes in
the patient’s condition occur and at the request of the family.
The patient is the seventh Jewish Hospital
patient to be implanted with an AbioCor heart and the 14th person
in the United States to receive an implant. The patient is the
second to receive the heart this month at Jewish Hospital. The
other patient underwent surgery on May 3 and remains in critical
condition.
The experimental procedure is the result of some
20 years of product research and development by ABIOMED, Inc.,
of Danvers, Mass. Jewish Hospital and University of Louisville
surgeons Gray and Dowling began working with the company about
five years ago. During the years leading up to the human implants,
the device was validated in FDA approved animal trials. A team
of nurses, perfusionists, physician assistants, anesthesiologists
and other support staff also worked in the development of the device
to learn how to care for patients.
Patients who are eligible to receive an AbioCor
device have a high probability of dying within 30 days without
the device. They are not candidates for other treatments, such
as a heart transplants.
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