Teams from the ICU Department at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University implant an artificial heart for a patient. [Photo/sdu.edu.cn]

On Oct 11, teams from the ICU Department at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University succeeded in implanting an artificial heart into a patient who was suffering from severe heart failure, marking the first-ever left ventricular assist device implantation surgery led by a cardiology team in China. The patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital on Nov 8.

The device was made of pure titanium and weighs 420 grams. Its core component is a metal blood pump.The device works like the turbineina washing machine to assist or replace the blood-pumping function of a human heart.

According to academician Zhang Yun, heart failure is the end stage of various heart diseases. Due to a lack of donors, just 600 out of 1 million patients receive heart transplants every year. In this case, implantable left ventricular assist devices bring hope to patients with end-stage heart failure.

The success of the implant, which was the first of its kind in Qilu Hospitaland the first one in China, marks the formal establishment of a multidisciplinary artificial heart team.