First heart transplant performed at Mayo Clinic in Arizona

Thursday, October 20, 2005

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Medical history for Mayo Clinic in Arizona was made on Wednesday, Oct. 19, when a 58-year-old Phoenix woman received a new heart, thus becoming Mayo's first heart transplant.

The patient was reported in guarded condition this morning in the cardiac intensive care unit at Mayo Clinic Hospital in northeast Phoenix following the surgery that began at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The surgical team was led by Francisco Arabia, M.D., surgical director. He was accompanied by Robert Scott, M.D., medical director, and the rest of the surgical and medical team.

Further personal details about the patient are being withheld temporarily for privacy reasons, and it is too early to tell how long she will remain in intensive care, according to Dr. Arabia.

Although no information is made public about the donor or how and when he or she was declared a potential donor, a heart is determined to be a "match," or medically compatible with the recipient, based on blood and tissue type, size of the organ, severity of medical condition and other factors. Geography is also an important factor in heart transplantation. Unlike other solid organs, a donor heart stays usable for less than six hours.

The Mayo medical team also completed procurement of the heart at another medical center, and the team then transported the organ to Mayo Clinic Hospital, shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

According to Dr. Arabia, the surgery was "complex," but the patient is expected to make a full recovery.

Mayo received approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) on Sept. 26, 2005, and officially opened its heart transplant program at that time.

Victor F. Trastek, M.D., Mayo's chairman of its Board of Governors, said that Mayo Clinic and the cardiac transplant team was pleased to be able to provide the transplant for the Phoenix patient — close to her family and friends. "This is a profound moment in the history of health care for patients in the Valley and a source of pride for Mayo Clinic," said Trastek.

Dr. Trastek credits the transplant team and "our colleagues at UNOS and Donor Network of Arizona for making it possible to bring heart transplantation to the greater Phoenix area."

ATTENTION MEDIA: MAYO CLINIC WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO THE SURGEON, MEDICAL DIRECTOR AND MEMBERS OF THE PATIENT'S FAMILY EARLY IN THE WEEK OF OCT. 23.

Mayo Clinic is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 65 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 208-licensed bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

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