First Self-containedHeart Implanted

A patient on thebrink of death has received the world's first self-contained artificial heart-abattery-powered device about the size of a softball that runs without the needfor

wires,tubes or hosessticking out of the chest.

Two surgeons fromthe University of Louisville implanted the titanium and plastic pump dur-ing aseven-hour operation at Jewish Hospital Monday.The hospital said the

patientwas"awake and responsive"Tuesday and resting comfortably.It refusedto release personal details.

The patient had beenexpected to die within a month without the operation,and doctors said theyexpected the artificial heart to extend the person's life by only a month.But

the device iscon-sidered a major step toward improving the patient's quality of life.

The new pump,calledAbioCor,is also a technological leap from the mechanical hearts used in the 1980s,whichwere attached by wires and tubes to bulky machinery outside

the body.The mostfamous of those,the Jarvic-7,used air as a pumping device and was attached toan appara-tus about the size of a washing machine.

"I think it'spotentially a major step forward in the artificial heart development,"saidDr. David Faxon,president of the American Heart Association.However,he said thedream

of anim-plantable,permanent artificial heart is not yet a reality,"This isobviously an experimental device whose long-term success has to bedemonstrated."Only about half of

the 4,200 Americanson a waiting list for donor hearts received them last year,and most of the restdied.

Somedoctors,including Robert Higgins,chairman of cardiology at the Medical Collegeof Virginia in Richmond,saidartificial hearts are unlikely to replace donor hearts.

"A donor heartin a good transplant can last 15 to 30 years,"he said."It's going tobe hard to replace that with a machine."

The AbilCor has a2-pound pumping unit,and electronic controls that adjust the pumping speedbased on the body's needs. It is powered by a small battery pack worn outside

the body thattransmits current through the skin.The pump of thefirst implanted self-contained heart was made of titanium and plastic.

A.Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned