A world first as boy, 15, given a permanent robot heart

October 03, 2010

A boy of 15 has become the first child in the world to be given a permanent artificial heart.
The unnamed Italian boy had the ten-hour operation last week and was said to be well and talking in intensive care last night.
As he has the muscle-wasting illness Duchenne’s syndrome, he was ineligible for a heart transplant.
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The pumps used for the world's first permanent artificial heart implant
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He was close to death when surgeons decided to save him with the artificial heart.
Dr Antonio Amodeo carried out the operation at Bambino Gesu children’s hospital in Rome.
Officials said the artificial heart is expected to give the boy another 20 to 25 years of ‘normal life’.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

It is amazing, 20 to 25 years is a long time, the average heart transplant only last for an average of 10 years and there is always the problem of finding a donor whose heart is compatible.

Laboratory grown organs are not the answer, but in the mean time this artificial heart is what we have, if they grow you a new organ from your own cells the problem would repeat itself, artificial organs won't have the same problem with rejection and hopefully the horrendous medications that are required now with heart transplant recipients could hopefully be eliminated. These medications cause secondary disease and in many cases cannot be treated, cancer is one of those, transplant recipients cannot take chemotherapy as it compromises an already compromised immune system and survival would be unlikely.

There is someone in my family who has had two heart transplants thirteen years apart, the last being three years ago. He is only 40 and now experiencing some problems, not rejection but medication related and at this point it looks like they will be able to threat it successfully. This is an example of what happens with transplants.

This is a really amazing read. Can you imagine growing up seeing all the technology breakthroughs like this? Heck even video game consoles are amazing to play with.

This is amazing news, my grandfather recently had a modified valve from a pigs heart "installed" into his own. He is doing well, however it is really something to think that in the next decade or so docotors will be simply installing the newest 100% artificial organs.

Hmmm. The movie Repo comes to mind.

Originally posted by Exodus2pt0
This is amazing news, my grandfather recently had a modified valve from a pigs heart "installed" into his own. He is doing well, however it is really something to think that in the next decade or so docotors will be simply installing the newest 100% artificial organs.

It is amazing news, good luck to your grandfather, the technology we have today and what they are working on for the future is mind blowing, not all technology is bad thank goodness.

Thank you for posting.

The first completely artificial heart was given to an unnamed man in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2001. A battery pack was fitted to his thorax to power the device.
A 15-year-old girl was given an artificial heart in 2006 in Alberta, Canada. However, unlike the
15-year-old boy in Italy, it was intended only as a temporary fix and was later removed.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

On July 2, 2001, a medical milestone was reached when Robert Tools received a total artificial heart implant at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Tools was implanted with an AbioCor artificial heart, one of several brands of new-generation artificial hearts that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trial. The AbioCor heart was developed by Abiomed of Danvers, Massachusetts.

Following the surgery, physicians were guardedly enthusiastic about the device and optimistic about the patient's future. Tools, 59, has had a history of numerous heart attacks and by-pass surgery, as well as diabetes and kidney problems. He met the requirements of the AbioCor protocol because he was not a candidate for transplant, death was otherwise probable within thirty days, and other interventions were deemed ineffective.

www.allbusiness.com...

Here is some information on Robert Tools who received an artificial heart in July, 2001, haven't been able to find if he is still living today and how it worked out over time.

Robert L. Tools (July 31, 1942 – November 30, 2001) was the world's first recipient of a fully self-contained artificial heart called AbioCor. The operation took place on July 2, 2001. He survived for 151 days without a living heart. Dr. Joseph Fredi at Saint Thomas Hospital suggested the experimental procedure based on his knowledge of a research project by Abiomed. While recovering from surgery Robert had the chance to enjoy some of his favorite past time hobbies fishing and dining out. While at Jewish Hospital Robert became renowned and received press throughout the world on shows like, Cooking Network, Dateline, Jay Leno, CNN, and most other news networks/shows. As a result of Roberts press, he received visits from Lt. Governors, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Muhammad Ali. While meeting with Ali, Tools earned the name, "#1 Champ" because of his fight to survive. Due to continued complications of abdominal bleeding and a stroke Robert died November 30, 2001.

en.wikipedia.org...

Robert Tools lived for 151 days without a living heart, it did buy him some time and he was able to get his life in order and had some fun doing it, he will always be remembered by Jewish Hospital and his team of Doctors as being the first in very important technology that saves lives, how many of us make history.

This is a really good feat for the medical community! After studying and experimenting with this technology they can / could invest in a better program creating better models and easier to apply ones at that!

10 Operations is a way to go!

Absolutely awesome.
Its rumored the first person to live over 1,000 is under the age of 24.
Wonder why?

Hmm.. the movie Repomen springs to mind, lol. But in all seriousness, this makes me wonder if the soul exists or not. If you could replace every part of a naturally born human, would they still have a soul? is there one part of the body that the soul needs which couldn't be replaced? thats if a soul exists at all.

I would definitely feel very unnerved about having a robotic heart, but if it meant living instead of dying who wouldn't take it? will it get to the point someday where we have robotic parts that can replace everything including the brain, and thus have humanoid robots? They really should let scientists clone body parts instead, would be far more logical and make things so much easier.