Cardio-Thoracic
Transplant Program at
April 18, 2005
From: Daniel Stolte,
520 626-4083
University Medical
Center's Cardio-Thoracic Transplant Program performed its 900th transplant on March
22, 2006.
David Phillips, 49, of
"Mr. Phillips is a wonderful man who has
devoted more than twenty years of his life to the armed services," said Dr.
Gandy. "Previously fit and healthy, he became severely debilitated by his
disease. We anticipate that this transplant will give him a new lease on life."
To date, Cardio-Thoracic Transplant Program
surgeons have performed 754 heart transplants, 54 heart-lung transplants, 50
single-lung transplants and 44 double-lung transplants.
Jack G. Copeland, MD,
chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at UMC, started the cardiothoracic
transplant program in 1979, then one of the first six heart transplant centers
in the
Dr. Copeland, who is also the co-director
of the Sarver Heart Center at The University
of Arizona, made
Recently, Dr. Copeland's team opened a new
chapter in pediatric heart surgery with the successful use of the Berlin Heart
assist device in two baby girls suffering from life-threatening heart failure.
15-month old Tiana Lopez and 8-month old Itxair Rodriguez received the assist
device, which is not readily available in the
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sguthrie@email.arizona.edu
To read about the
expansion of the UA College of Medicine in Phoenix go to http://www.phoenix.medicine.arizona.edu/About/News/Campus/