A team of Israeli surgeons has carried out the world's first implant of a permanent artificial heart, Tel Aviv's Shiba Tel-Hashomer hospital announced Sunday.
A miniaturized metal device with batteries, weighing 350 grams (10.25 ounces), was placed in the body of the 64-year-old patient during an operation lasting 14 hours, the hospital said.
He remained in intensive care Sunday, in what the hospital described as a "critical but stable" condition.
Artificial hearts have so far been used only as stopgaps for up to two years, until a classic transplant can be carried out. Such a transplant was ruled out in the current case for medical reasons.
The artificial heart used in the operation was developed at Pittsburgh University in the United States - TEL AVIV (AFP)
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