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CNN Live At Daybreak

Artificial Heart Patient's Name Revealed

Aired August 21, 2001 - 08:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: We now know the name of the man with the first self-contained artificial heart. He is 59-year-old Robert Tools of Franklin, Kentucky. And we'll be hearing more about him later today -- much more.

But medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland has details for us now from Louisville -- Rhonda.

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you just mentioned, the name -- the patient's name has been revealed, but this is against the patient's wishes.

And this morning, we were talking with the patient's surgeon, Dr. Robert Dowling, on another story about another first here at Jewish Hospital in Louisville where they're using a TAB -- a little mesh device to help patients with heart failure.

And at the end of that, we did ask the doctor how the patient felt about this, since he did want to speak on his own terms. He is planning to speak to the press at 2:00 today, and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DORNIN (voice-over): Scenes from the operating room during the world's first surgery to replace a human heart with a self-contained, battery-operated artificial heart at Jewish Hospital in Louisville.

The patient, a man only identified as being in his 50s, diabetic, who had exhausted all treatment options for heart disease.

DR. ROBERT DOWLING, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE: This is a very knowledgeable patient, and he was at a very well established heart center. And he knew that he had no other options.

DORNIN: Before the landmark operation on July 2, the patient had only a 20-percent chance of surviving through the end of the month. Doctors said the patient was informed the operation was risky.

DOWLING: And we also told him quite frankly and honestly, there's a lot of unknowns. How long the device is going to last? It's an unknown. Based on our information, we hope a year or longer.

DORNIN: The titanium and plastic AbioCor artificial heart weighs about two pounds. A battery-powered motor pumps blood through the body. An internal battery is continuously recharged through the skin by an external battery pack worn like a pager. Until this device, the artificial heart brought back images from the 1980s of Barney Clark tethered to a device the size of a washing machine for more than 100 days slowly dying from repeated strokes and infections.

The makers of the AbioCor say their device should overcome these problems, but doctors predict unforeseen obstacles.

DR. PATRICK MCCARTHY, CLEVELAND CLINIC: The history of all of these devices when they are first used is that, oh, there is a problem that we hadn't expected, because all of the studies before have been in animals.

DORNIN: Researchers have spent more than a decade developing the AbioCor. Still, as they venture into human tests, they expect success to come slowly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORNIN: Now that, of course, was the background story on this patient and his procedure. Now, we do have the sound bite with the doctor -- with the surgeon that we had from this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOWLING: I think the important thing here is that the patient was the one who decided when. And he is a very private person, and, you know, he's a family man. And he has concerns about the stress that it may cause for his family, and the stress that it may cause for his friends, and the stress that it may cause on his neighborhood. And he just wants to be seen as a normal person.

He doesn't want to -- he just wants to go back to his house and go back to doing his hobbies. He doesn't want to, you know, pull into his neighborhood with sirens blazing and everyone -- all the neighbors, oh, you know, there's the new Bob, and you know, that type of thing.

So, you know, we're a little bit sad, but he's doing well.

(LAUGHTER)

DOWLING: We are just so happy. And, you know, he views every day as a blessing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Dr. Dowling told us they are trying to avoid what they characterize as the media frenzy that surrounded the artificial hearts from the 1980s -- Barney Clark and Bill Schroeder. The doctor told us that they don't want the press reporting what they had to eat for breakfast -- what the patient had to eat. That they didn't want to get into that kind of detail, but that they did want to report how the patient is doing, and he does seem to be doing well. And as we said, we will hear from the patient himself at 2:00 today, and he does plan to answer a few questions from the media -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: We look forward to that. CNN's Rhonda Rowland, thanks.

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