Docs: Artificial heart patient faring OK

Dr. Laman Gray, left, and Dr. Robert Dowling delivered an update on the artificial heart recipient's condition Monday

(CNN) -- The first man to receive a totally contained artificial heart remains on a ventilator but is getting some exercise two weeks after undergoing the ground- breaking surgery.

Although the patient remains quite sick, he's faring better than expected given his condition, doctors said Monday.

"If someone had said at two weeks' time after surgery you would be at this point -- 'What do you think about that?' -- we would have said 'Fine, we'll take it,'" said Dr. Robert Dowling, a surgeon with the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

The patient, described as a man in his mid to late 50s, underwent surgery July 2 at Jewish Hospital. His name has not been released.

EXTRA INFORMATION Explainer: See a diagram of how the heart is implanted and powered

They said his new heart -- a softball-sized titanium and plastic pump called the AbioCor -- had beaten more than 1.5 million times since it was implanted.

The plastic and metal pump is made by Abiomed Inc. of Danvers, Massachusetts. The device includes an internal battery and a controller that regulates the pumping speed. The rechargeable internal battery, about the size of a pager, can operate the device for up to 30 minutes. Most of the time, an external battery powers the device by passing electricity through the skin.

Earlier mechanical hearts had wires and tubes penetrating the chest to connect to a power source, which increased the risk of infection.

Nothing 'unusual'

The AbioCor artificial heart was implanted into a man in his mid- to late-50s two weeks ago

The doctors said the patient's kidney function showed improvement, there were no signs of infection and his white blood cell count was what they expected, but he did suffer some minor gastrointestinal bleeding.

"We really have not seen anything to date that is unusual for the degree of illness that the gentleman has," said Dr. Laman Gray, also a surgeon at the university.

He has been able to grip a ball and use light weights to exercise his arm and leg muscles, Gray said.

The patient was so ill before surgery that he could barely walk, and his weight had dropped from 200 pounds to 140. He underwent bypass surgery in the past, suffered multiple heart attacks and was also suffering from kidney failure and diabetes.

Gray said the patient, who can talk when not on the ventilator, asked the doctors to convey a message to the public.

"He wanted me to express his very sincere appreciation to all of the people in the world who have expressed their prayers and support for him," Gray said.