Surgery at YRMC gets fresh heart, more hope

In April, doctors at Yuma Regional Medical Center told Thomas Griffith he needed a stent in his main coronary artery.
 
He underwent surgery a week later, thanks to a small device that kept blood circulating while his heart took a break.
 
Griffith was the first patient in Yuma to have a heart surgery with the Abiomed Impella 2.5 heart pump, which can help make surgery an option for patients whose conditions were previously too ill.
 
The device received FDA approval one year ago Tuesday and relieves the heart by pumping blood from the left ventricle to the aorta.
 
Only about five inches long, it pumps about 2-1/2 liters consistently and is inserted into the body through a catheter.
 
"It's like having a turbine on the inside of the heart," said Cardenas.
 
With the Impella doing the heart's work, it's easier for doctors to perform heart surgeries. Cardenas said it sends the heart into "relax mode."
 
"(It's) almost as if you were going to take the heart and put it on a lounge chair," Cardenas said.
 
Debbie Tortorici, the southwest account manager with Abiomed, the company that produces the Impella, said the device is the first of its kind.
 
"It supports the patient in a way that's never been available before," she said.
 
Cardenas agrees.
 
He said other methods aren't able to do what the Impella does.
 
And with only a small hole left by the catheter, Griffith said his recovery was easy.
 
"This was a walk in the park," he said.
 
Fewer than 24 hours after going in for surgery, Griffith was on his way home.
 
Just getting out of the car, he said he could tell his energy level had "skyrocketed."
 
"You come out feeling so much better than you did when you came in," Griffith said. "It's a great device.
 
"I'm proud to be the first one in Yuma."
  
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About the Impella:

- The device pumps blood from the left ventricle to the aorta during
surgery, allowing the heart to rest

- Can help relieve the heart for up to six hours, though it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes

- Pumps 2-1/2 liters of blood to and from the heart

- Approved by the FDA in June 2008

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Click on the video links to the right to see animation of how the Impella is placed in the heart and x-ray video of actual use of the device.