Last month, OneMedSentinel made mention of certifications for the world’s first Total Artificial Heart. SynCardia Systems Inc, the Tucson-based manufacturer of the world’s only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart, announced recently that St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia, has successfully bridged its first patient to transplant with the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart after 127 days of support. This patient was only the second person in the Southern Hemisphere to receive the Total Artificial Heart.
Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, the Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to human heart transplant for people dying from end-stage biventricular failure. The Total Artificial Heart is the only device that provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 L/min through both ventricles.
SynCardia President Michael Garippa said, “During the certification process, we emphasize the importance of implanting the Total Artificial Heart early enough to avoid vital organ tissue death.”
St. Vincent’s Hospital, the largest transplant hospital in Australia and is SynCardia’s Certification Center for the Asia-Pacific Region, achieved rapid patient recovery with its first two patients implanted with the Total Artificial Heart. The hospital made headlines in August when it performed the Southern Hemisphere’s first implant of the Total Artificial Heart. Prior to the surgery, doctors gave the patient less than two weeks to live.