(PHILADELPHIA) — A 46-year-old former fitness instructor,
suffering from biventricular end-stage heart
failure and in irreversible
cardiogenic
shock, has become the first to receive a new temporary
Total Artificial Heart in the Northeast U.S. by cardiac surgeons
at the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
The lifesaving technology is used as a “bridge to transplant” for
patients who are waiting for a donor human heart and who have both
sides of their heart failing, do not respond to other treatments
and are at imminent risk of death. Research has shown that patients
receiving the device, called the temporary
Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t) and manufactured by CardioWest™ (SynCardia
Systems, Inc.),
have almost twice the survival rate versus patients who received
standard ventricular
assist devices.
Rohinton Morris, MD, Surgical Director, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical
Assist Programs at Penn, and his team performed Penn’s first implant of
a TAH-t on February 12, 2007.
| WHERE: |
Hospital
of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP)
Surgical Theater, Ground Floor, White Building
34th & Spruce
Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104 |
| WHEN: |
Monday, February 19, 2007
1 – 1:30 p.m. EST |
| WHO: |
Rohinton Morris, MD, Surgical Director, Heart
Transplantation and Mechanical Assist Programs at Penn
Michael Acker, MD, Chief, Division
of Cardiac Surgery at Penn
Gary Onufer, 46-year-old TAH-t recipient patient; Ambler,
Pennsylvania resident; and former fitness instructor |
The TAH-t is the only temporary artificial heart approved by the
U.S.
Food and Drug Administration,
Health
Canada and Communite Europeenne
for “bridge to transplant.”
###
PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise
dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical
research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists
of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in
1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of
Pennsylvania Health System.
Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt
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& World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented
medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students,
the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior
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The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals,
all of which have received numerous national patient-care honors [Hospital
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first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice
plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite
facilities; and home care and hospice.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.