Thailand successfully implants first artificial heart in patient

BANGKOK, February 25 (TNA) - A medical team of Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital has successfully implanted an artificial heart into a patient for the first time in Thailand. Associated Professor Doctor Damras Tresukosol, Director of Her Majestic Cardiac Centre at Siriraj Hospital, announced the success on Monday, saying that the artificial heart, or HeartMate II, was successfully implanted into the 56-year-old male patient, Veerapong Nawasinpongsuk, who can now lead a normal life after the surgery late last year. Dr. Damras said the medical team conducted the artificial heart implant on the patient because he suffered from the final stage of heart failure and high blood pressure in his lung and could not be treated with other methods, including medicines, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) and heart transplant. Assistant Professor Doctor Pranya Sakiyalak, a cardiac surgeon at Siriraj Hospital's Faculty of Medicine, who conducted the surgery, told journalists that the operation took place on December 19, 2013, by placing an artificial heart below the patient’s original heart to help pump blood, with electrical wire connected between the mechanical heart and the controlling device on the patient’s stomach. According to the cardiac surgeon, the artificial heart can function for at least 10 years and can last 8-10 hours when the battery is fully charged. There have been more than 10,000 patients worldwide who have been implanted with HeartMate II, one-third of whom have later undergone heart transplant surgery, while the rest have continued using the artificial heart all their lives. (TNA)