Hadassah Ein Kerem successfully transplanted an artificial heart in a 40-year-old woman from the Jerusalem area. The woman arrived suffering from congestive heart failure 5 weeks earlier. During her hospitalization her condition deteriorated and she developed a block in the myocardium. The medical staff at Hadassah decided to give her an artificial heart to replace her failing heart, and to stabilize her until a suitable heart for transplant can be found. The patient is recovering and her condition is stable.
The transplant was carried out at the beginning of this week by Prof. Oz Shapira, head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Dr. Ehud Rudis from the Department, and by Prof. Jay Lavee from Tel HaShomer, with close cooperation with the Departments of Anasthesia and Cardiology at Hadassah.
The artificial heart allows for time before a donor heart can be transplanted, and it can operate for a number of years.
Prof. Oz Shapira indicated that “we have today the most progressive knowledge and the technology allowing us to offer a wide variety of treatments for people with congestive heart failure, and enabling us to be foremost in this kind of surgery.”