N Haidu reporter Chen Yanyan/Wen Mao Chaoqing/Photo
37-year-old Longyan man Afa (pseudonym) has a serious heart failure, may die suddenly at any time, on the 17th, doctors implanted an artificial heart for him. With it, Ah Fa can live like "Iron Man", with a "mechanical heart", and the sci-fi scenes in the movie come true.
This is the first domestic artificial heart implant surgery in Fujian Province. Professor Chen Liangwan, secretary of the party committee and director of cardiac surgery of Fujian Union Medical College Hospital, said that this "mechanical heart" is expected to be localized and mass-produced, which will greatly reduce costs and benefit 600,000 patients with severe heart failure.
<h1>Mature male end-of-heart failure Replace with artificial heart to continue life</h1>
Yesterday, Ah Fa lay quietly in the intensive care unit, each powerful heartbeat reminding him that he was experiencing a second life.
Originally, Ah Fa opened a small restaurant and lived a comfortable life. Four years ago, because of frequent night sweats, wheezing, and fatigue, he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, and although he has been taking medicine to control it, his condition is still deteriorating. In the past two years, his illness has become more and more serious, and he has to be hospitalized at least three or four times a year.
Two months ago, Ah Fa's heart failure had reached its end, and he couldn't walk or lie down. At The Union Hospital, doctors examined and found that his heart was twice the size of a normal person and he was unable to contract, and changing his heart was the only way to survive. But Ah Fa is 1.8 meters tall and weighs 83 kilograms, and needs a strong heart to carry his huge body. The average weight of the donor patient is only 70 kilograms, which is not suitable for him.
"Can't wait any longer!" The doctor consulted several times and recommended that Afa implant an artificial heart, first improve heart function, and then wait for the donor transplant. On the 17th, Professor Chen's team spent more than 5 hours to install the "mechanical heart" in the left ventricle of Afa, through an artificial heart pump, the blood flow of the ventricle was drained out, and then pumped into the body circulation of the human body, re-establishing a circulatory system, so that the ventricle of Afa's "scrapped" was rested. The right ventricle also operates in balance with the original system, the two circulatory systems.
<h1>Carrying a battery on your back can not get close to a high magnetic field</h1>
After implanting the "mechanical heart", Afa will undergo a series of restorative treatments and training. However, the normal operation of the "mechanical core" must be connected to the power supply through the external controller.
The in vitro controller is about the size of an iPad, about 3 kilograms, and through a 1.5-meter-long wire, it connects to the blood pump in the body, which is slightly smaller than an adult fist. The in vitro controller needs to install two batteries at a time, and each battery can be used for 4 to 6 hours. These batteries must be carried with them and replaced regularly for charging.
The shell of the "mechanical core" is a specially treated Chin alloy, which has the advantages of high specific strength and high corrosion resistance. After recovery, Afa can move freely, but can not swim, need to wear a special protective cover when bathing, and cannot approach the high magnetic field environment. If the "care" is good, the service life of this "life-saving heart" can reach 30 years.
Professor Chen introduced that at present, the main role of artificial heart is three: one is to wait for the transition of heart transplantation, to win more time for patients; the second is to provide short-term replacement support for patients with acute heart failure, wait for the heart to rest well, and withdraw after functional recovery; the third is to provide long-term replacement for patients with end-stage heart failure to support patients with artificial heart for long-term survival.
<h1>The "Chinese heart" makes many patients see hope</h1>
According to reports, the transplantation technology of artificial heart has matured in foreign countries, and there are a variety of artificial heart options. Currently, people wearing artificial hearts survive for 12 years. However, the cost of artificial heart produced abroad is 1.2 million to 1.3 million yuan, and it has not been approved for clinical use in China.
In recent years, China is stepping up domestic research and development and clinical applications, this "mechanical heart" is the first implantable artificial heart in China, it has reached the international advanced level in technology, the price is half of the imported "mechanical heart", it is still in the clinical trial stage, no material fee, but also part of the assessment and examination fee.
At present, only 3 hospitals in the country (Beijing Fuwai Hospital, Wuhan Union Hospital, Fujian Union Hospital) have become approved clinical trial units, and 18 seriously ill patients have been successfully treated since the end of last year. If the domestic artificial heart is successfully clinically tested and mass-produced through approval and listing, it will greatly reduce costs and benefit more patients.
"There are about 13 million people with heart failure in China, and more than 600,000 people with severe diseases." Professor Chen said that the only way out of heart failure is to change the heart, but the donor is limited, and at present, China can only do about 300 heart transplants a year, and most patients die in waiting. For this reason, the artificial heart will become the hope of many patients.
Editor: Li Shuai
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