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Texas Doctors Prove You Can Live Without an Organic Heart

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Did you hear about Texas Heart Institute’s invention of the BiVACOR heart? Dr. Billy Cohen and Dr. Bud Frazier developed a “continuous flow” device to basically replace a human heart.

The overall idea involves removing the heart and putting two turbines in its place. The patient would then wake up with no heartbeat and no pulse, but their blood would still flow continuously. The doctors performed the procedure on 50 calves, all of which woke up alive and well the following day as if nothing had happened.

Cohen and Frazier knew the next step was to try the procedure on a human, but they were still weary of the magnitude of the surgery. Since Craig Lewis’s only shot at elongating his life was to undergo the surgery, the doctors moved forward on their first human patient.

Sadly, Lewis passed away from the underlying disease that caused his heart problems only five weeks after surgery in 2011, but his heart worked perfectly.

You can watch this video for more information on the amazing story, but keep in mind that some of the images are graphic. Currently, the device is still being perfected and the Texas Heart Institute has teamed up with doctors in Australia to further their research. It’s a big medical advancement that not many Texans would know originated in their state.