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SA debuts new heart treatment technology in Cape Town

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 13 Aug 2021
Johan van Wyk, with his wife, Alicha, and daughter, Dihante.
Johan van Wyk, with his wife, Alicha, and daughter, Dihante.

South Africa has debuted new heart treatment technology, the Abbot HeartMate 3 LVAD device, which replaces the function of the failing heart muscle.

The device is used to pump the blood around the body to provide vital circulation and is implanted within the patient’s chest and records clinical data that the treating specialist needs for monitoring the patient’s condition remotely.

In a first for SA, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Willie Koen, assisted by cardiac surgeon Dr Loven Moodley, used the technology at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town, saving the life of patient, Johan van Wyk, as there was no donor heart available for the life-saving transplant he desperately needed.

Almost 10 years after being diagnosed with heart failure at the age of only 29, qualified electrician Van Wyk is regaining strength after becoming the first person in South Africa to have the latest state-of-the-art mechanical heart device implanted in his chest.

Dr Koen comments: “The device replaces the function of the failing heart muscle, pumping the blood around the body to provide vital circulation. Previously, ventricular assist devices (VADs) have mainly served as a temporary option to keep a patient alive until a heart transplant could be performed.

“Technological advances in VADs have increased the longevity of these devices, increasingly supporting their use as a potential long-term solution for heart failure.”

According to Dr Koen, finding matching donor hearts has been even more challenging during COVID-19, and the Abbot HeartMate 3 LVAD device is now being used to save lives.

“Heart failure is a progressive condition, and in Johan’s case, it had reached the stage where his life was at considerable risk. Often such patients repeatedly have to keep going back to the intensive care unit because their health is so precarious.

“It was extremely fortunate that this new-generation Heartmate 3 LVAD was available when Johan needed it, and there is every hope that this young man will have a good quality of life again and many more years with his family, even if a donor heart does not become available for him.”

Furthermore, Dr Koen says the field of electromechanical cardiac assistance is advancing all the time, and moving to this latest technology as a long-term option makes it possible for patients with heart failure to regain their mobility and independence.

“We are already working towards future developments and soon it may become possible for VAD devices to be entirely implantable, including all the necessary components and batteries that can be wirelessly recharged.”

Commenting on the success of the procedure, Dr Louis van der Hoven, general manager of the hospital, says: “Dr Willie Koen and the multi-disciplinary team have introduced yet another pioneering treatment. Procedures such as this one demonstrate the living legacy of Professor Christiaan Barnard in a time of rapid technological progress, and on behalf of all of us at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, we wish Mr Van Wyk every strength for his continued recovery.”

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