Device saves patient’s life in first of its kind heart op

An 83-year-old Limerick man who suffered a heart attack is making a good recovery at Limerick University Hospital, due to the first of its kind procedure carried out in this country.

Consultant cardiologist Prof Tom Kiernan, assisted by cardiologist Dr Brian Hynes, inserted a US-made pump device which enabled him to safely place stents in the patient’s heart.

Without the pump — known as the Impella 2.5 Litre device — the stents procedure would have been very high risk due to the condition of the patient’s heart. The patient was also deemed unsuitable for open heart surgery due to his overall medical condition.

This is the first time the device, manufactured by Abiomed in the US, has been used by an interventional cardiologist in this country.

Prof Kiernan, 38, said: “Basically we used this cardiac device that goes inside the heart and helps the heart to pump. This enabled us to go ahead and perform a complex life-saving cardiac procedure on the patient with a successful result.”

He said the Impella 2.5lt pump withdrew blood from the ventricle and pumped it into the aorta and acted something like a ‘speed boat engine’ in the heart.

Prof Kiernan said: “It was done under local anaesthetic with colleague Brian Hynes. Overall it took about two and a half hours.

“The outlook wasn’t very good for the patient. He was deemed unsuitable for open heart bypass surgery, because of age and other factors. Because of that we used the pump device which goes in from the leg and inside the heart. Basically it pumps 2.5 litres of blood out of the heart, allowing me insert stents into his coronary arteries.”

The pump, he said, has only become available in Ireland in recent months.

Prof Kiernan said that he expects the patient to return home in coming days.