Hope for a new possibility of therapy for children suffering from heart insufficiency in Poland - First EXCOR® Pediatric implantations successful

Newborns with heart failure or children suffering from severe heart insufficiency in Poland don’t really have much of a choice. A heart transplant most of the time is the only survival possibility. The problem the Polish doctors are facing, is that there is hardly a chance to keep their patient’s condition stable until heart transplant becomes possible. Waiting times are much too long until donor hearts become available. The demand for life-saving heart assist devices, which could bridge the time by mechanically supporting the heart function, is enormous. But the therapy option with a so-called „Ventricular Assist Device“ (VAD) is not yet established, nor is reimbursement for those critically ill patients clarified. First achievements with the EXCOR® Pediatric device turned out with great success. Prof. J. Skalski, leading heart surgeon at the University hospital in Krakow, implanted end of 2009 the EXCOR® Pediatric device from Berlin Heart to a 1 year-old girl. The operation itself and also the post-operative time went perfect, meanwhile the girl has been transplanted. As Poland’s second recipient a 7 year-old boy received the heart assist device just two weeks ago in Zabrze. Also in his case the operation went without complications. A doctor from Krakow, who already attended the first implantation, came to support his colleagues during the operation. Medical and technical support was also provided by Berlin Heart specialists from Germany, who were on site during and also after the implantations in order to train staff on system handling and patient management. „We hope that those two success stories are helping to establish VAD therapy as an official option in Poland for these critically ill patients“, says Dr. Stefan Thamasett, General Manager of Berlin Heart. „Both clinics show the necessary pre-requisites. Prof. J. Skalski and his team are one of Poland’s most experienced heart centres. In Zabrze the clinic has just opened, medical and technical equipment is highly professional, perfect for setting up a VAD program.“

About EXCOR®
EXCOR® is a para-corporeal ventricular assist device for patients of all age groups, from newborns to adults. It is used for short-, mid- and long-term cardiac support and can support failing hearts for any duration from a couple of days to several months and years. Since the first implantation in 1988 EXCOR® has been implanted in more than 2.000 patients worldwide.

EXCOR® is currently under clinical investigation for paediatric use in USA. All other products are not FDA approved.

About Berlin Heart
Berlin Heart GmbH is the only company worldwide that develops, produces, and distributes implantable and external ventricular assist devices for patients of every age and body size. The company is the market leader in Germany and Europe.

Berlin Heart GmbH
Wiesenweg 10
12247 Berlin

www.berlinheart.de
info@berlinheart.de

This release was published on openPR.