KYIV. July 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s first surgery to install a mechanical heart was successful, the patient breathes and speaks on his own and says his relatives have visited him, CEO of Heart Institute (Kyiv) Borys Todurov has said at a press conference.
According to him, a German company under the guarantee of payment provided the patient with a mechanical heart worth about EUR120,000. There was no budget funding, so charity funds are attracted.
“The German firm has provided [the heart] on parole,” he said.
Todurov noted this heart is highly reliable, but is not the most expensive one. In general, there are five companies in the world that produce such equipment.
According to him, the patient, who was established the mechanical heart, will be able to live a normal life, while he should just avoid strenuous exercise and swimming. The patient will also need to constantly wear a bag with batteries [its weight is about 4-5 kg] and monitor the battery charge every ten hours.
Commenting on the process of surgery, Todurov said it lasted about four hours.
