News Releases

LOUISVILLE SURGEONS SAY ARTIFICIAL HEART PATIENT STILL DOING WELL

News briefing planned for August 1, 2 p.m. (EDT)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville surgeons who implanted the first AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart in a diabetic man in his 50s at Jewish Hospital, July 2, announced today that the patient continues to recover ahead of expectations.

According to Drs. Laman Gray and Robert Dowling, the patient has been strong enough to travel by wheelchair outside of his hospital room, stand and walk with assistance for short distances and write notes to his family, clinical team and friends. His kidney and liver functions remain stable and his lungs remain clear. The patient remains off the ventilator and able to talk during his waking hours. He has had intermittent stomach bleeding from gastritis with anticoagulation therapy.

The patient and his family have expressed to the physicians their continued desire for privacy, and again extend their thanks to well-wishers from all over the world. The family has stated to the clinical team their wishes to hold the "quiet period" for as long as possible. Their hope is to protect their privacy and to spare future AbioCor patients the perceived expectation to identify themselves, before they are ready to handle the inevitable attention that will accompany such an announcement.

At the appropriate time, the patient has stated that he will be pleased to share his experience with the media. Now, he is focusing on rebuilding his strength during the recovery process.

Dr. Dowling will hold a press briefing Wednesday, August 1, at 2 p.m. (EDT), at the Rudd Heart and Lung Center Conference Center on the Jewish Hospital campus, 201 Abraham Flexner Way. He will provide an update on the patient's condition and the clinical events that have occurred since the surgery.

The news conference will be up-linked live via satellite coordinates Ku-Band SBS 6, Transponder 7, Horizontal Frequency 11872 MHZ, 74 degrees West. The audio frequency is 6.20/6.80. The signal will be available from 2-3 p.m. (EDT), Wednesday, August 1.

The news conference will also be web cast at www.heartpioneers.com and www.jewishhospital.org. Media representatives can also call (reference Jewish Hospital or AbioCor) 1-800-937-6563, or 1-801-983-4013 for international callers, to listen to the press conference and ask questions following the press conference. For future reference, the press conference will be archived on www.heartpioneers.com and www.jewishhospital.org.

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