I'd like you to meet a happy man with no heart:
He has no heart. He has no pulse. He has no measurable blood pressure. And yet he there he is, smiling at you.
In his hands he holds a model of the “Heartmate II” mechanical heart that circulates his blood:
MONTREAL — A 65-year-old Quebec man who received a new long-term mechanical heart last month is being described as the only living Canadian without a pulse.
Dr. Renzo Cecere implanted the “Heartmate II” mechanical heart into Gerard Langevin in an three-hour operation Nov. 23.
Officials at the McGill University Health Centre say the device, which is about the size of a flashlight battery, could last up to 10 years.
That is longer than other models which are thought to be good for only two or three years.
Mr. Langevin will be leaving the hospital and going home soon. His life expectancy has just been extended from a few more months to a bunch more years. The mechanical heart may last for up to 10 years -- and by then, who knows? Sure, life is uncertain, and there are no guarantees for any of us; but now this man has another chance. No wonder he's smiling!
We live in an amazing age of medical breakthroughs.
We've come a long... LONG way in just the last few years!!!
Great read...
AubreyJ.........
Posted by: AubreyJ | December 16, 2006 at 11:54 PM