Artificial-Heart Patient Doing Well

In Louisville, Kentucky, the recipient of the world's first self-contained artificial heart is said to be doing well. The patient underwent the groundbreaking surgery on July 2, and doctors are optimistic that he may one day be able to leave the hospital.

Dr. Robert Dowling, associate professor of surgery at the University of Louisville and one of the doctors who performed the seven7-hour surgery, talked with The the Early Show about the procedure.

The patient's respirator was removed in the afternoon of July 4, and he is doing very well, says Dowling, .who is associate professor of surgery at the University of Louisville.

The patient was very ill going into the surgery, Dowling says, and it was a very long operation. "So we're just absolutely pleased with his progress at this point," he says.

There are still some real concerns, Dowling says. "Anytime after surgery, we have to worry about infection. He had very weak kidneys going onto the surgery so we're watching his kidney function real close," he Dowling says.

The lungs are another part of the body that arealso a concern after any heart surgery, Dowling says.

Another concernAlong with infection and weakened organs, with organ transplantation includes is the risk for of rejection. B--but there's no risk of that with the artificial heart, says Dowling. "That's the good news. That's one of the definite advantages of this artificial heart. There is no chance of rejection."

Since the artificial heart is made of titanium and plastic--rather than another person's heart tissue--the recipient's body does not recognize it as foreign tissue and does not attack the heart.

So how does the device work? A motor and a hydraulic pump work to fill the artificial heart's left and right ventricles and send blood off to the lungs and then to the rest of body, Dowling says.

The heart is usually not on not battery- powered, but Dowling says it is possible to charge up the battery inside the body via "transcutaneous energy transfer,"-- where a metal coil inside the body that receives electricity through the skin from a charger outside the body.

The next step for this transplant patient is the same as for any other heart patient after surgery, says Dowling. "As he gets better, we're going to get him up and move him around more, and just have him work on his breathing and focus on his nutrition and get him a lot of physical therapy to increase his muscle mass, that type of thing," he says.

It's It is the hope of everyone involved that the patient will one day be able to go on and live his life normally, says Dowling. It's not just about keeping people alive, : Iit's about giving them a good quality of life.

"Our hope is that these patients, event the initial setup patients, will have a good quality of life, will be able to return to normal functions, [and] normal what we call 'activities of daily living,'" says Dowling.
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