UCLA patient is first to receive successful heart transplant after using experimental 50cc Total Artificial Heart

A petite 44-year-old woman has received a successful heart transplant at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, thanks to an experimental Total Artificial Heart designed for smaller patients.  The UCLA patient is the first person in California to receive the smaller Total Artificial Heart, and the first patient in the world with the device to be bridged to a successful heart transplant — that is, to go from needing a transplant to receiving one. The 50cc SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart is a smaller investigational version of the larger 70cc SynCardia heart, which was approved for use in people awaiting a transplant by the Federal Food and Drug Administration in 2004 and has been used by more than 1,440 patients worldwide. The 50cc device is designed to be used by smaller patients — including most women, some men and many adolescents — with end-stage biventricular heart failure, where both sides of the heart are failing to pump enough blood to sustain the body. The device provides mechanical support until a donor heart can be found.   Nemah Kahala, a wife and mother of five, was transferred to UCLA from Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in March.  She was suffering from restrictive heart muscle disease and in critical condition.  Her heart failure was so advanced that repair surgery and other mechanical assist devices could not help.    Kahala was placed on a life support system called extra corporal membrane oxygenation, but this only works fo...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news