SynCardia Systems, Inc. (www.syncardia.com),
manufacturer of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial
Heart, announced that Groupe hospitalier de la Pitié-Salpétrière (La
Pitié) in Paris has performed 200 implants of the Total Artificial
Heart, more than any other hospital in the world.
“The SynCardia Total Artificial Heart would not be the clinical success
it is today without La Pitié”
“The SynCardia Total Artificial Heart would not be the clinical success
it is today without La Pitié,” said Dr. Jack Copeland, world-renowned
Total Artificial Heart pioneer and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at
University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. “For decades, La Pitié has
been a leader in the field of cardiac surgery, performing Europe’s first
heart transplant in 1968 and Europe’s first Total Artificial Heart
implant in 1986. In December 2009, La Pitié also became the first
hospital in the world to use the new Companion Driver System to power
the Total Artificial Heart in a patient.”
The La Pitié Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery is led by Prof.
Alain Pavie. The 200th implant was performed by Prof. Pascal
Leprince on Jan. 5, 2010. Prof. Leprince is a SynCardia proctor who
helps train new centers on the Total Artificial Heart and advises them
in the operating room during their first implant.
Currently, La Pitié has five Total Artificial Heart patients awaiting
heart transplants. The hospital’s 200 implants account for more than 20
patient years of life on the Total Artificial Heart. According to Prof.
Pavie, La Pitié has performed more than 2,000 heart transplants, ranking
it among the top transplant programs in the world.
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