Word: hearted
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Distributor Cap. When Mrs. White died, a team headed by Dr. William Angell removed her heart. Dr. Shumway did not have it perfused with blood, as had been done in South Africa, while Kasperak was prepared for the implant. He simply had it kept in a cold saline solution, at about 50°F. Kasperak, on a heart-lung machine, was cooled hardly at all. Applying experience gained from years of experimental surgery on animals, Dr. Shumway left in place two quadrantal areas of Kasperak's heart, with venae cavae and pulmonary veins attached-analogous to the distributor...
...They could not exchange enough oxygen to keep him going. So an incision was made in his throat and a tube inserted to supply oxygen more efficiently and to remove mucus. Kasperak's big chest was rigid; other organs showed little tendency to close in around the small heart, and the cavity filled with fluid. His liver and kidneys had been damaged by a shortage of oxygenated blood...
...liver function, an excess of bilirubin (a by-product of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in blood) began to build up in his system, and doctors scheduled another massive transfusion to remove impurities from his blood. Through it all, the one organ that consistently worked best was his acquired heart...
...patient who seemed to get along best with his transplanted heart was former Dentist Philip Blaiberg in Cape Town, Dr. Barnard's second recipient. Eleven days after the operation, Blaiberg, 58, was sitting on the edge of his bed and swinging his legs like a schoolboy. This was not mere bravado, but was designed to help his circulation. He drank a "shandy" (beer and lemonade) and sang a Brahms lullaby...
Then Blaiberg hit some snags. When he developed a sore throat, his doctors were relieved to find no evidence of bacterial infection. They decided that a virus was to blame and prescribed a simple gargle. Next, too much fluid accumulated in the sac around Blaiberg's new heart, as may happen after cardiac surgery of any type. This necessitated puncturing the sac to drain it. After that, Blaiberg said he felt much better, and the doctors felt confident enough to reduce his already moderate doses of immunosuppressive drugs...