Man’s heart resumes functioning 18 months after artificial implant surgery

PTI, Jul 11, 2019, 11:34 AM IST

New Delhi: In a miraculous turn of events, a 52-year-old man got a new lease of life when his heart resumed functioning almost 18 months after he underwent an artificial heart implant procedure following cardiac failure.

Detecting the recovery, doctors switched off the artificial heart and the man is alive on his original heart now.

Iraqi businessman Hani Jawad Mohammed was implanted with an artificial heart after he suffered a heart failure, a condition in which heart muscle doesn’t pump blood as well as it should, Chairman and Head of CTVS, BLK Heart Centre Dr Ajay Kaul said.

“The patient had visited us in a critically ill state a year-and-half ago with a failing heart and rapidly deteriorating health. He was given an option of a heart transplant or artificial heart implant.

“Due to the acute shortage of donor and his serious condition, artificial heart implant was the only alternative we had,” Dr Kaul said.

“After surgery, he was under constant check up and we were monitoring his implant and his organic heart which was put on medication and rest,” consultant cardiologist at the hospital Dr Dheeraj Gandotra said.

This time, when he came for a follow up, almost after a gap of three months, It was noticed that his original heart has recovered and was functioning properly, Dr Kaul said.

A team of doctors monitored his original heart’s functioning by slowing down the artificial implant. They repeated the process three to four times in over two months and realised that his original heart has recovered.

“Generally the original heart may show recovery of 10-15 per cent but his heart functioning was way better. It is a medical miracle.

“After confirmation, we weaned off the artificial heart with a new technology without performing surgery on him again,” said Dr Kaul, who has invented the most advanced technique of weaning off artificial heart support.

His heart is beating again normally without any support, the doctor said.

Mohammed said, “It’s a rebirth for me — from a failed heart to an artificial heart to a natural one again.”

“I had several attempts on my life. The first was one being in the captivity of terrorists, from where I managed to escape. Even after having received multiple gun-shot injuries, I survived many surgeries and finally underwent an artificial heart transplant here,” he said.