 |
|
INTEGRIS Launches Worldclass Advanced Heart Failure Program
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Dr. Long addresses the media, showing the heart pump implanted in "Gus."
|
Press Event Held to Introduce the New Team of Medical Experts and the First Patient to Benefit
March 20, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY - James Long, M.D., Ph.D., led the newly assembled Oklahoma Advanced Heart Failure team through successful implantation of an artificial heart pump to save the life of Augustus Harbert, threatened by end-stage heart failure.
“This is a momentous occasion,” says Long, who is a pioneer in the filed of artificial heart technology. “As part of a growing number of alternatives for treating heart failure, we are finding real hope in bionics, the science of artificial organ replacement.”
Long is the newest member of the Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute and now directs the Oklahoma Advanced Heart Failure program at INTEGRIS. Long says, “I was drawn here by desperate needs and a group of experts committed to excellence. Building on a great heritage, I intend for Oklahomans to have access to the very best therapies available anywhere in the world.” In the near future, Long expects to introduce cutting edge technologies and services never before available within Oklahoma.
Assisted by a multidisciplinary team including cardiovascular surgeon Craig Elkins, M.D., and cardiologist Doug Horstmanshof, M.D., Long implanted a self-contained, battery-powered heart pump into Augustus Harbert of Tulsa on March 12.
 |
|
Augustus "Gus" Harbert with his two-year-old son. | “Gus,” as the patient prefers to be called, is just 30 years old. He had been suffering with a failing heart due to a cardiomyopathy since 2004. Prior to the surgery, Harbert found it nearly impossible to do much more than merely “get around the house.”
Just before his operation, Harbert’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Doctors at INTEGRIS knew they had to act fast and felt Harbert was an ideal candidate for a left ventricular assist device or LVAD.
Implanted near the heart, the LVAD replicates normal heart function. The LVAD weighs less than four pounds and measures about four inches in diameter and two inches in depth. INTEGRIS Baptist is the only facility in Oklahoma to offer this therapy.
Doctors say Harbert’s surgery was a complete success. The device will return him to quality of life and allow him to get stronger while continuing to wait for a heart transplant. Thanks to Long and his team, Harbert’s 2-year-old son can expect to have his father around for a long time.
Long, the other members of the new Oklahoma Advanced Heart Failure program at INTEGRIS and the Harbert family will be available for comment at a specially scheduled press conference. An LVAD will be on display. B-roll of the surgery will be provided at the event. Electronic still photos are also available on request.
DATE: Monday, March 24
TIME: Arrive 1:45 p.m., Event starts at 2 p.m.
PLACE: INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center
(3300 N.W. Expressway)
** Meet hospital representative in main entrance lobby to be escorted to the Bennett Room **
This is a great opportunity to meet/interview Long, a world leader in the development and clinical use of artificial heart technology.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
INTEGRIS Health Corporate Communications
3030 N.W. Expressway
Suite 1620
Oklahoma City, 73112
(405) 951-4826 |
|
|
 |
|
|