A 42-year old San Diego man is recovering after undergoing surgery to replace what was the first total artificial heart transplant on the West Coast.
The patient’s heart was removed and replaced by a device that rapidly restored blood flow to his entire body, according to UC San Diego Medical Center.
The procedure took four hours.
"The total artificial heart goes in and, in most cases, the patients can recover from metabolic disaster, provided they are not too advanced in age, weak, or suffering from other chronic organ disease," said Jack Copeland, MD from UC San Diego Health System.
The total artificial heart was the 366th used in the U.S. but the first on this side of the country.
