EUR: 'Smallest artificial heart pump' implanted: German hospital
Tue Aug 18 04:28:51 EST 2009
Doctors in Germany have successfully implanted the world's smallest artificial heart pump .. billed as more effective and unobtrusive than earlier devices.
The University Hospital of Heidelberg says in a statement .. the first recipient .. a 50-year-old woman .. received the 92-gram pump made of plastic and titanium in late July and is now leading a nearly normal life with it at home.
A hospital spokesman says the pump can fully replace the function of the heart's left ventricle .. and works particularly quietly and effectively.
It can also help patients bridge the time until a heart donor can be found for a transplant.
AAP RTV jfm/psm/
