Aurora team implants Wisconsin's first total artificial heart

Milwaukee, Wis. - A cardiac surgery team led by Dr. Alfred Tector has performed the state's first implant of a temporary total artificial heart at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center.

"We are very proud to have been among the first to introduce this new technology to our patients," said Tector, the medical director of the transplant program, in a release.

The Madison-area patient, who was suffering from end-stage heart failure, is reportedly in stable condition. The artificial heart will replace his damaged heart while he waits for a donor heart to become available.

Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center is one of five hospitals in the U.S. and 13 worldwide certified to implant the temporary total artificial heart, known as TAH-t, which is the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved model of its kind.

"Survival rates have increased dramatically because of major therapeutic advancements to reduce the risk of strokes and internal bleeding," Tector said. Tector implanted 10 older model artificial hearts in the 1980s and 1990s.

More than 300,000 Americans die every year from heart failure, many waiting for a heart transplant, according to Aurora Health Care, a not-for-profit healthcare provider operating in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin.

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