Novacor implant successful in Greece

A heart-failure patient at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre in Athens, Greece, became the first Greek patient to be implanted with the Novacor LVAS and discharged to his home while waiting for a heart transplant.

The implant surgery was successfully performed at the Cardiac Surgery Department/Heart Transplant Department of the Onassis Centre following 'an uneventful period of recuperation'.

The Novacor LVAS is an electrically-powered pulsatile flow pump which is implanted alongside a patient's own heart in order to take over 'a large portion' of the workload of the natural heart. Specifically designed to support end-stage heart-failure patients, it is the first ventricular assist device to provide a recipient with more than six years' circulatory support and holds the industry record for support on a single pulsatile device, at 4.8 years. To date more than 1,600 patients have been supported with the Novacor, totalling over 670 patient-years. No deaths have been attributed to it.

'We are all very excited to see our patient returning home in such good condition and back to a more normal life with his family,' said Dr. Petros Sfirakis, who performed the implant. 'Donor organs are very scarce in Greece, and a long waiting period is often anticipated, particularly for patients, like this man, with pulmonary hypertension.'

Dr. Piet Jansen, WorldHeart's chief medical officer, added: 'We are delighted with the successful start of the Novacor program in Greece. In Europe, where the usage is unrestricted, the Novacor has been used as a bridge to transplant, bridge to cardiac recovery and as destination therapy.'

The Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, founded by the Onassis Foundation and donated to the Greek State in 1992, performs more than 1,800 cardiothoracic operations annually. Professor Peter Alivizatos, director of the Heart Transplant department, said that following the successful discharge of the patient he believes the department is ready to look to other implants.