UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER, FAIRVIEW
UPDATE
Kenneth Liao, M.D., cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon
Heart device
provides freedom
for heart patients
University of Minnesota Medical Center,
Fairview is a national leader in extending
the lives of those whose
hearts simply can?t do
the job any more. It?s
a reputation earned, in
part, through research
and patient experience.
Ventricular-assist
devices (VADs), small
pumps that take over
the work of the failing
heart, have been used at the medical center
since 1995. The VAD program is the second
busiest in the nation.
uofmmedicalcenter.org
>>

...t

h a t

96

pe rc e n t
re s u l t is n?t r e p r o d u c e d
a n y w h e r e in th e co u n t r y
o r, f o r th a t ma t t e r,
t h e wo r l d <<
?For some, the device does the job until the
patient gets a heart transplant; in other words,
it provides a ?bridge to transplant.? For others,
a heart transplant isn?t a possibility, and the
pump is permanent; that?s called ?destination
therapy,?? says Kenneth Liao, M.D., cardiovascular
and thoracic surgeon. The medical
center is one of only 70 Medicare-approved
facilities in the nation
for destination therapy.
Since 1995, medical
center teams have
implanted 261 VADs,
30 of those for destination
therapy. The device is
connected in parallel to
the pumping chamber of
the heart and implanted
in the upper part of the abdominal wall.
A cable connects it to a small battery pack
and controller device outside the body.
continued on page 6
Published quarterly
for health care professionals
April 2008 vol. 1, issue 1

You need to upgrade your Flash Player

You need to upgrade the version of your Flash Player to version 9 minimum.

Click here

Adobe Flash Player Download Center