LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A fifth man has received a self-contained artificial heart, but he is having problems with his lungs, surgeons at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia said on Tuesday.
"The operation went well and the artificial heart is performing flawlessly," Dr. Louis Samuels, director of the cardiac transplant team at MCP Hahnemann University, said in a statement.
"However, despite restored strong circulatory support from the AbioCor, the patient is experiencing pulmonary distress requiring external oxygenation support. We are working to resolve that problem, so that he can begin his rehabilitation," the surgeon said.
The medical team said details about the patient would be released later. Surgeons have said previously that patients considered for the implant were critically ill with fewer than 30 days to live.
Hahnemann University Hospital is one of five national sites participating in a clinical trial of the artificial heart, which has been given the brand name AbioCor. The first-of-a-kind, self-contained artificial heart, made by Danvers, Massachusetts-based Abiomed Inc. has been implanted in four other patients.
The first two implantations of the titanium and plastic device were performed at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 2 and September 13 this year.
The first patient, Robert Tools, 59, has done better than doctors originally expected. The second Kentucky patient, Tom Christerson, 70, is not progressing as well as hoped. His surgeons said earlier this week that he is still on a ventilator and has been running a high fever, although the fever has stabilized.
The third implant took place at the Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas, on September 26. A fourth implant was performed at University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center on October 17. Those patients' names have not been released at the request of their families.
The US Food and Drug Administration gave permission for five of the devices to be implanted in the initial clinical trials.
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