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NEWS RELEASES
HOUSTON (Sept. 29, 2005) – A 3-month-old Corpus Christi
resident, Brady, is one of the smallest pediatric
patients in the country to receive a Berlin Heart, a
scaled-down heart pump that improves blood flow and is
considered a “bridge” for patients awaiting heart
transplants.
The infant
underwent a five-hour surgery on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at Texas
Children’s Hospital in Houston to implant the device.
Texas
Children’s doctors sought approval from the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for “emergency compassionate use” of the only
heart device available for infants, which is manufactured in
Germany.
“The Berlin
Heart is a temporary measure,” said
Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr. , the chief of
cardiovascular surgery at Texas Children''s
Heart Center, who performed the surgery. “It gives new hope for
this baby because the device takes over the pumping function of his
heart and gives him time to gain strength and more weight as he
waits for a donor heart to become available.”
Brady, who
was diagnosed in utero with a failing heart at 26 weeks of
gestation, was not expected to live to term. He was delivered at 34
weeks. Corpus Christi doctors said he had an enlarged left ventricle
and severe aortic valve stenosis. His heart was so damaged that he
was unable to feed by mouth, and has been on a feeding tube since
birth.
At six weeks
of age, Brady was transferred to the cardiovascular intensive care
unit at Texas Children’s Heart Center. “At first, we performed a
balloon dilation on the aortic valve to relieve the obstruction,”
said Dr. David Nelson, director of pediatric cardiac intensive care.
“Even though the procedure was successful, Brady’s heart muscle
function still did not recover as we hoped. We then listed him for
a heart transplant.”
During that
time, Brady’s condition was critical, as he awaited a donor heart.
It was then that Heart Center doctors began the approval process for
emergency use of the Berlin Heart.
“Today’s
surgery demonstrates the critical need for smaller devices in this
country that can save more infant lives,” said Fraser, who is also
chief of the Division of Congenital Heart Surgery at
Baylor College of Medicine. “I’m thrilled that our Heart Center
was able to be a part of this milestone. We know that these types of
devices will be vital to improving the lives of many babies who
otherwise would have no options.”
Texas
Children’s Heart Center is a self-contained pediatric heart
treatment facility within Texas Children''s Hospital. Its unique
design provides a single point of care including examinations,
echocardiography, heart catheterization, congenital heart surgery
and intensive care. This special setting enhances continuum and
delivery of care. The Heart Center sees more than 12,000 patients
and performs more than 750 surgeries annually. |
