Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 15, 1993 TAG: 9308150110
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
The 41-year-old landscaper, who was the first recipient of an experimental battery-powered heart pump, received a donor heart Friday night at Fairfax Hospital.
The Beallsville, Md., resident was in good condition Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Jane Albright said.
"He's making very good progress for just having had a heart transplant," she said. "He's off the ventilator and talking now."
Fairfax Hospital was one of three nationwide selected to test the battery-powered heart pump that Dorsey had used before the transplant.
The device, implanted in February, kept Dorsey's diseased heart working and bought him time while awaiting a suitable donor heart, Albright said.
Dorsey is a big man, which made it more difficult to find a suitable heart, she said.
Because the federal Food and Drug Administration required that clinical trials of new devices or drugs take place inside a controlled environment, Dorsey had been forced to remain at the hospital since February.
"If they'd let me, I'd be out of here tomorrow," Dorsey said in a June interview. "It's pretty boring."
Earlier versions of the pump required a bulky device that limited the patient's movement. But the battery-powered device, which Dorsey wore in a lightweight shoulder holster, allowed him to move around.
Dorsey felt well enough to work as a receptionist in the transplant office and even played a few games of volleyball.
"We're all very attached to Mike," Albright said. "I got a lump in my throat when I heard there was a donor heart."
Dorsey, a father of six, went to his doctor in January for a checkup, complaining of chronic shortness of breath.
Dorsey's doctor put him in the hospital. His condition, known as idiopathic cardiomyopathy, worsened. Dorsey suffered congestive heart failure in February and was given 24 to 48 hours to live without a heart transplant. The pump was implanted Feb. 21.
Dorsey's condition improved almost immediately, Albright said.
The pump itself is not new. Called HeartMate, it has been a fairly common option for patients awaiting heart transplants since it came on the market in 1990, Albright said.
What is new is the power source for the device. Instead of a machine the size of a television that must be wheeled around next to the patient on a cart, Dorsey wore two battery packs, each the size of a pocket radio.
The device was first tested at Texas Heart Institute in Houston. The FDA expanded clinical trials to Fairfax Hospital and Columbia Hospital in New York this year.
Eight of the battery-driven devices have been implanted so far.
by CNB