Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. 9 Issue NO.: 30 (Jul 2010 - Oct 2010)
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568

Teenager gets first permanent artificial heart

Indian Transplant Newsletter.
Vol. 9 Issue NO.: 30 (Jul 2010 - Oct 2010)
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568
Print PDF


A 15-year-old Italian boy has become the first child patient in the world to be permanently implanted with an artificial heart.  The boy underwent a 10-hour operation in September 2010 and was doing well after the surgery. He could not be placed on the heart transplant waiting list as he was suffering from a muscle wasting illness called Duchenne syndrome.

Paediatric cardiac surgeon Dr. Antonio Amodeo and his team carried out the operation at the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome. Unlike previous artificial heart operations, this was not a temporary solution but a permanent one and was expected to give the boy another 20-25 years of ‘normal life.’

The artificial heart was around 4 cm long and had been placed in the left ventricle and its connection with the ascending aorta. It is an electrically activated hydraulic pump and is entirely located inside the thorax, in order to reduce the risk of infection. It is powered through a plug positioned behind the left ear. It is connected to a battery that the patient holds on a belt and is charged during the night like a mobile phone. The device weighed a little more than 90 gm – compared to adult ones which can weigh around 1 kg.

Dr. Amodeo said that the surgery was unique as “up until now it had only been performed on adult patients.”


To cite : Shroff S, Navin S. Teenager gets first permanent artificial heart. Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. 9 Issue NO.: 30 (Jul 2010 - Oct 2010).
Available at:
https://www.itnnews.co.in/indian-transplant-newsletter/issue30/Teenager-gets-first-permanent-artificial-heart-629.htm

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