HOUSTON (AP) - Surgeons have implanted a self-contained mechanical heart into a 10th patient, the device's manufacturer announced Monday.
The grapefruit-sized AbioCor heart is meant for patients with end-stage heart failure who have a 70 percent chance of dying within a month. Seven recipients of the AbioCor heart have died since the first was first implanted in 2001.
Dr. O.H. Frazier, chief of cardiopulmonary transplantation for the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, performed the surgery Feb. 24, according to a spokesman from Abiomed Inc.
The company said the patient's identity is being withheld at the family's request.
The AbioCor device has no wires or tubes that protrude from the chest. An internal battery and controller regulate the pumping speed, and an external battery powers the device by passing electricity through the skin.
Six pumps were implanted in 2001, one in 2002 and three so far this year. The seven patients who received the pumps in 2001 and 2002 have died, the company said.
The longest-living recipient of a self-contained permanent artificial heart was Tom Christerson, 71, who died last month in Lousiville 512 days after receiving the device.
James Quinn, 52, of Philadelphia lived for almost 10 months after receiving one of the artificial hearts. He died last year. His widow is suing Abiomed, claiming they never fully explained to her husband how the transplant would affect his life.
