The JDD revealed Sunday that the death of the first patient to receive an artificial heart transplant is due to an electronic problem in the prosthesis.
Two weeks after the death of the first patient transplanted with a Carmat artificial heart, the veil begins to lift over the reasons for his death. In an interview granted to Sunday Newspaper, Professor Alain Carpentier, the father of the artificial heart, explains that “the heart suddenly stopped. There was a short circuit. This resulted in cardiac arrest identical to that which can be seen in a pathological natural heart. ” The reasons for this “electronic problem” have not yet been discovered according to the professor, but “the engineers of Carmat […] work on it day and night to figure it out. They will find ”.
The professor adds that “the most important [ses] eyes ”is that“ death is not linked to a complication of the patient, nor to the fundamental principle of this prosthesis, which is the use of biocompatible materials to limit the formation of clots and the risk of thrombosis. ”
The culmination of 25 years of research, this prosthesis could ultimately constitute an alternative to heart transplants. Alain Carpentier was also keen to confirm at JDD that he considered this first attempt to be a success for science and medicine. “For 74 days, this patient did not show any cerebral deficiency, the check of the heart after the death and the autopsy confirmed it: there was not the slightest clot, neither in the prosthesis, nor in the circulation. . In this sense the trial is a success. ”
The father of the artificial heart paid tribute to the patient, Claude Dany (whose name is revealed by the Sunday weekly) and to his family. He looks back on the 74 days he spent with the first total bioprosthetic artificial heart. “The first few weeks, Mr. Dany recovered very well. And then he presented some complications. Mainly bleeding, stress ulcers in the stomach, respiratory problems. ” “With his pathological past, his body was like an overly worn piece of clothing. Every complication, however minor, added up. ” Complications that can be avoided in the future. “Thanks to the courage of Claude Dany, we are already improving the preparation and therefore the success of the next implantations as well as the patient’s comfort”. Three more patients should be operated on before the end of the year.
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