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| Vol. 22, No. 12 |
| July 1, 2000 |
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Patient with MicroMed DeBakey VAD Receives Heart Transplant by KRISTINA VAN ARSDEL Texas Medical Center News
A 31-year-old woman who became the first U.S. patient to receive the MicroMed DeBakey Ventricular Assist DeviceTM (VAD) just three weeks ago now has a new heart. On Thursday, June 22, the patient underwent heart transplant surgery at The Methodist Hospital, where doctors removed the heart assist device and implanted a donor heart in a three-hour procedure. As the TMC News went to press, a Methodist spokesperson reported on June 27 that the patient was recovering well following the surgery and was expected to be released from the hospital in a week and a half. The patient, a native of Houston, was diagnosed with heart failure at the age of 25. Her father lost his battle with the same heart condition when he was 32 years old. Thanks to the innovation of Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, Baylor College of Medicine chancellor emeritus, Dr. George Noon, a Methodist Heart Center cardiovascular surgeon, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers, the patient received a ventricular assist device designed to give her ailing heart the extra help it needed to function while she awaited her heart transplant. The device, implanted by Dr. Noon at The Methodist Hospital on June 7, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trials as a "bridge to transplant." Plans are under way for the trials to be expanded to include other sites around the country.
The tiny axial flow device, weighing less than 4 ounces, assists the left ventricle with its function of pumping blood out to the body. In a normally functioning heart, blood flows into the left ventricle, the largest chamber of the heart, where it is pumped to the ascending aorta. From the aorta, the blood is sent out to nourish the body. The MicroMed DeBakey VAD acts as a messenger between the left ventricle and the aorta. Blood flows from the left ventricle through a titanium inflow tube inserted outside the left ventricle. Inside the pump itself are blades that, with the help of a brushless, direct current motor, spin the blood out through a Dacron outflow graft sewn to the ascending aorta. The blood then resumes its pathway to the rest of the body.
The device is connected externally to a controller, which is powered by two 12-volt DC batteries. The patient carries the controller and batteries in a pack weighing about 5 pounds. The idea for such a pump began to take shape more than 12 years ago. Drs. DeBakey and Noon combined their medical expertise with NASA's engineering and technology to realize the idea. NASA became involved after Dr. DeBakey performed a heart transplant on NASA engineer David Saucier. Development of the device began in 1988 and MicroMed Technology, Inc. received an exclusive license for the VAD in 1996 from NASA."It has been over 12 years since Dr. George Noon and Ifirst started to develop our pump with NASA engineers at the Johnson Space Center and NASA Ames Laboratories," said Dr. DeBakey. "We are very pleased to be able to start the U.S. clinical trials in Houston. This is further progress towards offering hope to the tens of thousands of patients who suffer from heart failure." The device has been implanted in 32 patients in Europe, where approval to proceed with clinical trials was granted in November 1998. A second patient, a 59-year-old man, has also received the MicroMed DeBakey VAD at The Methodist Hospital, bringing the total to 34 worldwide. According to American Heart Association statistics, approximately 4,500 people in the United States are on a waiting list for a new heart. In 1998, about half of those waiting received a heart transplant. The American Heart Association estimates that each year between 20,000 and 40,000 Americans could use a heart transplant. "Ten to 30 percent [of people] on the transplant waiting list won't survive. In the future, we hope this [pump] can be used as a permanent measure," said Dr. Noon, professor of surgery at Baylor.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/07_01_00/page_01.html |
