An Australian man has made medical history as the first person in the world to leave the hospital with a totally artificial heart.
The patient, a man in his 40s from New South Wales, underwent the groundbreaking procedure in November at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. Surgeons implanted the titanium artificial heart, developed by med-tech company BiVACOR, during a six-hour operation.
After spending several weeks in intensive care and additional time under observation in a general ward, he was discharged last month. The device was designed to keep patients alive while they await a donor heart.
In early March, the patient successfully received a donor heart transplant, marking the longest period anyone has lived with an artificial heart before transitioning to a transplant. The BiVACOR device functions using a pump to maintain essential heart functions.
Dr. Daniel Timms, the Queensland-born inventor of the artificial heart, expressed pride in the technology’s progress. “Being able to bring Australia along this journey and be part of the first clinical trials is immensely important to me,” he said. “The entire BiVACOR team is deeply grateful to the patient and his family for their trust. Their bravery will pave the way for countless more patients to receive this lifesaving technology.”
Dr. Paul Jansz from St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney described participating in the operation as a privilege. “Heart failure kills almost 5,000 Australians every year,” he noted. “We’ve worked towards this moment for years, and we’re enormously proud to have been the first team in Australia to carry out this procedure.”
