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'MECHANICAL HEART' BOY NEEDS HEART TRANSPLANT URGENTLY(Bernama The Malaysian National News Agency Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)from BERNAMA, The Malaysian National News Agency KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- Muhammad Fikri Nor Azmi, who is Malaysia's first Implantable Ventricular Assist Device (IVAD) or mechanical heart recipient, is in urgent need of a new heart National Heart Institute (IJN) chief cardiothoracic surgeon Datuk Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub said the 15-year-old boy needed a suitable heart donor and undergo an urgent heart transplant to replace the mechanical heart "With the IVAD, Fikri has managed to buy some time but he will still need to undergo a heart transplant surgery as soon as possible," he said in a statement today The IVAD is a temporary device that helps the heart by taking over most of its functions. It is connected to the heart and helps in reducing the strain on the heart Dr Mohd Azhari said Fikri, who had the IVAD implant last July, underwent an operation to replace the faulty air-compressor line yesterday after developing persistent air-pockets around the mechanical heart over the weekend The 10-member surgical team took four hours to perform the procedures and did not encounter any complications "Fikri made good progress and is in stable condition. He was weaned off the ventilator this morning and is currently recuperating in the Intensive Care Unit," he said The IJN can be contacted at telephone 03-26178471 or fax 03-26928425 Copyright 2005 Bernama |