A Young Father Made Heart History and Saved His Life

A young Graham, N.C., father became the second person in the world to receive a BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) as a bridge to transplant, living with the device for 10 days before undergoing a heart transplant at Duke University Hospital. The device completely replaces a patient’s heart muscle, providing the essential mechanics to circulate blood throughout the body. For patients with biventricular heart failure awaiting a heart transplant, the device provides blood circulation until a donor heart becomes available. The use of the device at Duke was part of a first-in-human clinical study aiming to evaluate the safety and performance of the BiVACOR TAH. The device provides an option for eligible patients with severe biventricular heart failure or univentricular heart failure in which left ventricular assist device support is not recommended. “While there are many ways to bridge patients with end-stage heart failure as they await heart transplant, all conventional strategies were unsuccessful for our patient, who had dysfunction of both the right and left side of the heart,” said Duke transplant surgeon Carmelo Milano, M.D., chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. “The BiVACOR TAH effectively replaced his entire heart and restored normal circulation. He was able to...