Girl's heart regenerates thanks to artificial assist
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 | 3:44 PM ET
CBC News
A 15-year-old girl has become the first Canadian to have an artificial heart removed after her own heart healed itself.
Melissa Mills arrived at Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital last year after a sudden illness made her critically ill and a candidate for a heart transplant.
Doctors at the hospital implanted the Berlin Heart, a portable mechanical device that keeps blood pumping in an ailing heart, so she could survive until a transplant became available.
But over the next few months, Melissa's overall condition improved dramatically, and her heart muscle regained much of its strength. After 146 days on the Berlin Heart, Melissa underwent surgery to have the device removed.
"We thought the miracle was that the Berlin Heart would give us time to find the perfect donor heart for Melissa," said her mother, Sharon Mills, in a release. "We are overwhelmed that instead, the Berlin Heart gave her own heart time to rest and repair itself."
The Berlin Heart is the world's first mechanical heart designed for children. To date, five patients have received a Berlin Heart at the Stollery Children's Hospital.
Dr. Ivan Rebeyka, clinical leader of the Berlin Heart program, said he's encouraged by the device's role in human heart regeneration. "We are just beginning to understand all the applications for the Berlin Heart," he said.
With files from the Canadian PressShare Tools
Top News Headlines
- Teen struck by lightning in Ottawa dies
- The victim of a Friday lightning strike during a storm in east Ottawa has died, CBC News has learned. more »
- Montreal protesters march in peaceful defiance
- The clanging of pots and pans sounded throughout Montreal's downtown core Saturday night and into early Sunday morning, as thousands of protesters marched on in peaceful — but loud — defiance of Bill 78. more »
- Outrage grows over Syria killings
- The deaths in Syria of over 90 people, including at least 32 children, has sparked international outrage and raised fears that the international peace plan is in tatters. more »
- Missing Winnipeg children found in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children reported missing and possibly in Mexico have been found alive, according to unofficial reports from an agency that works to find missing people. more »
Latest Health News Headlines
- Alcohol addiction team wants higher energy drink prices
- Mixing alcohol with caffeine-rich energy beverages is a trend that is continuing to rise in Canada, despite repeated warnings that the combination is unsafe, a new report warns. more »
- How curry spice helps the immune system kill bacteria
- A spice used in curry dishes helps to prevent infection and now scientists think they've got a lead on how. more »
- Yellowknife toddlers catching hand, foot and mouth virus
- An outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease in Yellowknife is causing many toddlers and their parents some major discomfort. more »
- Super microscope installed at University of Victoria
- What's heralded as the world's biggest microscope has arrived at the Unversity of Victoria, marking the culmination of a 10-year effort by one of the school's professors. more »
FEATURED HEALTH
- Teen struck by lightning in Ottawa dies
- Missing Winnipeg children found in Mexico
- Quebec tornadoes cause millions in damage
- Pope's butler arrested in Vatican leaks scandal
- Montreal protesters march in peaceful defiance
- Woman's remains found in hockey bag on Cape Breton river
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- Everest team unable to bring down Toronto woman's body
- WWE apologizes to Brazil over Canadian's flag stomp
