World's First Partial Heart Transplant Grows Valves and Arteries
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Interesting Engineering: Marking a significant advancement in medical science, the world's first partial heart transplant has achieved the expected outcome after over a year of research efforts. Carried out by Duke Health, the patient, a young individual, now exhibits functioning valves and arteries that are growing in tandem with the transplant, as initially expected by the medical team. In spring 2022, doctors carried out the procedure on a baby who needed a new heart valve. Before, they used non-living valves, which didn't grow with the child. This meant the child needed frequent replacements, and the surgeries had a 50 percent chance of being deadly. The new procedure avoids these problems, according to the team. Babies with serious heart valve problems face a tough challenge because there aren't any implants that can grow with them. So, these babies end up needing new implants over and over until they're big enough for an adult-sized valve. It's a problem that doesn't have a solution yet. Duke Health doctors, leading a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, discovered that the innovative valve collection method used in the partial heart transplant resulted in two properly functioning valves and arteries that are growing along with the child, resembling natural blood vessels. "This publication is proof that this technology works, this idea works, and can be used to help other children," said Joseph W. Turek, first author of the study and Duke's chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, in a statement. The research also notes that the new procedure requires less immunosuppressant medication, reducing potential long-term side effects. It also facilitates a "domino transplant" method, where one donor heart benefits multiple patients, potentially doubling the number of hearts available for children with heart disease by utilizing previously unused hearts and valves.
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