The first operation to implant an artificial heart into a human being in Colombia has been a success, local media reported Tuesday.
The pioneering operation was undertaken at the Cardiovascular Foundation of Colombia in Santander, successfully transplanting an artificial heart into a 51-year old patient.
A spokesmen for the medical institution reported that the woman who underwent the operation had rejected natural organ transplants rendering it necessary that an artificial heart be used.
Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case heart transplantation is impossible.
The artificial heart must be made of light but durable materials with the most common being a combination of titanium and a specially developed polyurethane, called ‘Angioflex’.
The successful operation follows one in 2013 at the same Cardiovascular Foundation where a woman was kept alive by being connected to mechanical heart until a donor could be found.
The Cardiovascular Foundation is one of the three university hospitals in Colombia to be certified by the Ministry of Health.
Sources
- Por primera vez implantan un corazón artificial a un ser humano en Colombia (Caracol)
- The Total Artificial Heart (Colombian University Department of Surgery)
- Crean el primer corazón artificial (El Espectador)
