Surgeons perform first Total Artificial Heart “bridge to transplant” in North Texas

When Bryan Tyo suffered a heart attack in January, he was too sick to receive a heart transplant. A surgical team at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas instead removed his damaged heart and implanted a total artificial heart, a portable device designed to pump blood throughout the body when both sides of the patient’s heart fail — also known as end-stage biventricular heart failure.

This total artificial heart provided Bryan with a “bridge” to get stronger and await a heart transplant when he was healthy enough to receive one. Surgeons were able to successfully transplant Bryan on February 29.

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is the first hospital in the region to implant a total artificial heart and transition the patient to a successful heart transplant.

 

This is a model of the artificial heart that bridged patient Bryan Tyo to transplant.

 

Themistokles Chamogeorgakis, MD, cardiac and thoracic surgeon at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, explains how the total artificial heart served as a “bridge to transplant” for Bryan Tyo.