April 19, 1996. Copyright, 1996, Graphic News. All rights reserved

ALTERNATIVE FOR HEART TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

LONDON April 19, Graphic News-  Ralph Lawrence, a 65-year-old diabetic from Warwickshire, underwent an operation at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on March 20 in which he was given a mechanical heart Ð designed to replace the natural function of his own heart on a permanent basis and, hopefully, ensure years of extra life. The hospital expects him to be discharged as soon as next week. Mr Lawrence said he felt Ômarvellous, a lot better than I did before the operation.Õ
Stephen Westaby, the surgeon who carried out the operation, said he was delighted with Mr LawrenceÕs progress.
On April 10, 67-year-old Francis McKeon, a retired computer systems analyst from New Jersey became the first person in the United States to receive a battery-powered HeartMate mechanical heart as a permanent alternative to a transplant, after the innovative medical device became the first implantable cardiac-assist system to win approval from the influential U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Until now, the HeartMate Ð developed by Thermo Cardiosystems Inc. of Massachusetts Ð has been mostly used as a temporary ÔbridgeÕ to provide long term support for patients awaiting heart transplants. More than 600 patients have been supported worldwide with HeartMate systems. While the FDA has only recently given its approval for the HeartMate to be used in the U.S. as a permanent alternative, doctors in the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden have been using it as such for the past two years. The company believes it is the most effective available treatment because it dramatically reduces major side-effects, particularly blood clots Ð associated with similar devices or artificial hearts.
The device, known as a left ventricle assist device, or LVAD, supports the patientÕs natural heart when the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, is no longer strong enough to pump oxygen-rich blood from the lungs. The HeartMate allows a patientÕs heart to be left in place so it can still perform its natural biological functions and is surgically connected between the heart and the aorta, the main artery leaving the heart. Blood is then directed from the heart into the HeartMate, which produces the force necessary to pump blood throughout the body.
The system includes two batteries and a computerised controller that are worn on a belt or underarm harness. Unlike early mechanical hearts which required the patient to be connected up to a refrigerator-sized pneumatic pump, the HeartMate shouldnÕt restrict mobility.
Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, who performed the surgery on McKeon, believes the device could revolutionise the way heart failure is treated. ÔWe have an opportunity to determine whether the LVAD can prolong life and improve the quality of life. IÕm optimistic it can do both.Õ
Development of the HeartMate began in 1966 and has cost more than $50 million in research funding. During clinical trials it has been used in patients ranging from ages 14 to 66 Ð the average duration of support being 76 days, with several patients being supported on the device for approximately one year. 
The cost of implanting the device is about $150,000 Ð $50,000 for the equipment and the rest for surgery and hospitalisation.

Sources: Associated Press, Thermo Cardiosystems Inc., John Radcliffe Hospital