Hopkins Hospital selected to use artificial hearts
Issue date: 2/21/08
Johns Hopkins Hospital has just been chosen as one of four hospitals in the nation to implant the new AbioCor, the first fully self-contained artificial heart.
Artificial hearts that are currently available have many shortcomings, the biggest of which is the high risk of infection after surgery. Because these hearts rely on an external power source, there are electrical cables running from the inside to the outside of the body, penetrating the skin.
The AbioCor implantable replacement heart is the first of its kind to employ transcutaneous transmission of energy: One pad under the skin receives the electrical current and a pad outside of the body delivers the energy. After the original surgical scar has healed, there are no permanent breaks in the skin.
John Conte, the associate director of cardiac surgery and the director of the Ventricular Assist Device Program at Hopkins Hospital, explained that the AbioCor "provides totally implantable support, so that the risk of infection goes away after [the patient] has recovered from the operation."
An additional benefit of the AbioCor is its greater overall durability, potentially lasting 18 months or longer. A newer model to be released later this year is designed to last up to five years.
Recent improvements to the Abiocor allow it to act as long-term support for patients with cardiomyopathies, a general weakening of the heart muscle, who are normally poor candidates for currently available devices. Total artificial hearts also eliminate any existing problems of the patient's original heart, such as arrhythmia, blood clots or leaking vales.
However, the full heart replacement is not without drawbacks. "By removing the entire heart, there is no backup if the device fails," said Ashish Shah, assistant professor of surgery and director of the Lung Transplant Program.
"Some patients have recovery of their native heart after months and years of conventional mechanical circulatory support and can have their devices removed. The total artificial heart eliminates this option."
Artificial hearts that are currently available have many shortcomings, the biggest of which is the high risk of infection after surgery. Because these hearts rely on an external power source, there are electrical cables running from the inside to the outside of the body, penetrating the skin.
The AbioCor implantable replacement heart is the first of its kind to employ transcutaneous transmission of energy: One pad under the skin receives the electrical current and a pad outside of the body delivers the energy. After the original surgical scar has healed, there are no permanent breaks in the skin.
John Conte, the associate director of cardiac surgery and the director of the Ventricular Assist Device Program at Hopkins Hospital, explained that the AbioCor "provides totally implantable support, so that the risk of infection goes away after [the patient] has recovered from the operation."
An additional benefit of the AbioCor is its greater overall durability, potentially lasting 18 months or longer. A newer model to be released later this year is designed to last up to five years.
Recent improvements to the Abiocor allow it to act as long-term support for patients with cardiomyopathies, a general weakening of the heart muscle, who are normally poor candidates for currently available devices. Total artificial hearts also eliminate any existing problems of the patient's original heart, such as arrhythmia, blood clots or leaking vales.
However, the full heart replacement is not without drawbacks. "By removing the entire heart, there is no backup if the device fails," said Ashish Shah, assistant professor of surgery and director of the Lung Transplant Program.
"Some patients have recovery of their native heart after months and years of conventional mechanical circulatory support and can have their devices removed. The total artificial heart eliminates this option."
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