At the beginning of the year, details of a revolutionary method of implanting an artificial heart into a patient without opening the chest were made public. This technology will be used for several months at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel.
“Until now, to implant an LVAD device, which is commonly called an artificial heart, and scientifically – a left ventricular assist device, a ventricular assist device – it was necessary to open the chest. This is a complicated operation that takes many hours. But in recent months, we have been performing this procedure without cutting the sternum. The patient recovers faster. This is good news for patients with heart failure,” said Dr. Oren Caspi of Rambam Hospital about the new technique.
According to the hospital’s medical management, the intervention takes less time. To implant an artificial heart, only two incisions between the ribs are required. The risks of complications are much lower than when a chest incision is performed. Patients tolerate such surgical intervention much easier and recover faster.
More information about the unique method will be revealed at the annual conference of the hospital’s cardiac surgery department on February 22.
An LVAD is an artificial heart, a magnetic centrifuge that pumps blood from the left ventricle to the aorta, from where it is delivered to organs and tissues, which helps to cope with heart failure.

February 11, 2023