Lebanon Successfully Performs First Artificial Heart Implant

A medical team in Lebanon has successfully performed the first "artificial heart" implant in Lebanon on a 37-year-old man suffering from terminal heart failure.

A team of doctors at the the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) oversaw the six-hour operation last Friday and deemed it successful after the patient survived the first critical 72 hours, an AUBMC press release said.

Heart Failure
Heart Failure

"The operation was a huge success as it was this patient?s last chance at life," said surgeon Pierre Sfeir, who conducted the operation.

"His vital organs are functioning normally and the new device implant is pumping blood properly," said the patient's cardiologist Hadi Skouri.

Recovering in the special care unit, the patient, a father of four, was all smiles the third day after the surgery.

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"I was facing death when I arrived here," he said. "Merely lifting an arm would knock the wind out of me. I could barely breathe. Now, I have a new lease on life.

"My family is really, really happy. My dad cannot stop smiling," he added.

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The "artificial heart" implant operation involves the insertion of a device (LVAD) that takes over the functions of the left ventricle of the heart, which is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

Source-AFP
SRM