Last December, there were only two things 46-year-old Chuck Besen wanted for Christmas… a matching donor heart and kidney. This year, thanks to the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart and the dual transplant he received at University Medical Center (UMC) in March, Besen will celebrate his first Christmas at home with his 2-year-old son Dylan and his fiancée Jennifer Hokanson.
“Today, I just thank God I’m alive,” said Besen. “The Total Artificial Heart not only saved my life, but allowed me to get strong enough to undergo my dual transplant.”
“It’s incredible how our whole life has changed,” said Hokanson. “This whole journey has been an integral part of Dylan’s life. He was only 8 months old when it all began. If it weren’t for family, we don’t know what we would have done. We’re very lucky to have each other.”
In October 2008, Besen checked into a Las Vegas hospital to undergo a routine aortic valve replacement. However, after the valve was replaced, his heart wouldn’t start beating again. Besen was flown by air ambulance to UMC in Tucson, Ariz. To save his life, Besen was implanted with the Total Artificial Heart in the next day.
“With the Total Artificial Heart, my organs started coming back,” said Besen. “My liver came back first. All my organs eventually came back except for my kidneys. The doctors put me on the waiting list for both a heart and kidney transplant.”
After a little more than a month on the waiting list, on March 27, 2009, Besen became the second Total Artificial Heart patient in the world to receive a dual heart and kidney transplant. Besen was discharged from the hospital on April 10, 2009. He and his family were able to move back home to Las Vegas on Aug. 1, 2009.
“Without the Total Artificial Heart, there is no doubt in my mind that we wouldn’t be sitting here sharing our story today,” said Hokanson.
Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, the Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to human heart transplant for patients dying from end-stage biventricular failure. The Total Artificial Heart is the only device that provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 L/min through both ventricles.
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