Artificial heart patient gets furlough

Robert Tools had a walk and a cheeseburger on his first outing from the hospital since receiving his artificial heart.

By Rhonda Rowland
CNN Medical Unit

LOUISVILLE (CNN) -- Robert Tools, the world's first recipient of a self-contained artificial heart, left the hospital for a ride around town, went to the park and then stopped for a cheeseburger at White Castle, doctors said Tuesday.

"Mr. Tools is now 85 days out and is doing extremely well," Dr. Laman Gray told a news conference. "He's eating on his own, his nutrition is not what we want at this point but it's improving."

Tools, 59, left the hospital for the first time last week, doctors said, was driven around town in a van and then visited Waterfront Park where he went the distance, mostly in his wheelchair but partly on foot. He is able to walk short distances. On the way back to Jewish Hospital, the patient asked to stop at the White Castle for a cheeseburger.

Before that outing could proceed, doctors drove another device around the city in a van to be sure electrical interference would not impede the heart's performance.

A second recipient of the AbioCor artificial heart, Tom Christerson, 70, underwent his surgery 12 days ago. The operation was performed by the same surgeons who did the first operation, Drs. Gray and Rob Dowling of the University of Louisville.

"The operation itself went very well," said Dowling, "Mr. Christerson's took just over 5 hours, which is down from the 7 hour operation with Mr. Tools."

Christerson's surgery had been scheduled for September 12, but was postponed for one day because of the September 11 attacks by airline hijackers against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Doctors had been concerned about how long he could survive if it was postponed beyond that.

Tom Christerson, shown with his wife Speedy in a family photo, is the second recipient of an artificial heart.

The patient's heart has functioned flawlessly , his kidney function is now close to normal and liver function is normal. To qualify to receive the AbioCor artificial heart, patients must have exhausted all standard medical therapies and have only a 10 percent chance of surviving another month.

"Clinically speaking, though, Mr. Christerson had only about a 5 percent chance of surviving another week," Dowling said.

Kentucky's Gov. Paul Patton praised both patients for their courage.

"It's obvious to me it's possible to have a device like this and have a good quality of life," Patton said. "It does not seem too cumbersome."

Gray said his team has started working with the federal Food and Drug Administration on a possible discharge plan for Tools, who has been allowed to leave the hospital for short periods since his initial excursion. "It will take several months to work it out," said Gray "and it's too early to give a discharge date."

The AbioCor artificial heart, manufactured by Abiomed, Inc., fits inside the body and is battery-operated. The FDA gave the company approval to implant the device in five patients in initial studies.