Baylor’s cardiac experts share expertise and pioneering devices at On The Frontline
On Oct. 30, over 160 individuals attended the latest installment of On The Frontline, Baylor College of Medicine’s educational luncheon series, which featured Baylor’s accomplishments in cardiac research and patient care.
Baylor President, CEO and Executive Dean Paul Klotman, M.D., served as moderator with speakers Gabriel Loor, M.D., associate professor and the George P. Noon, M.D., Endowed Chair in Surgery in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, and Ajith Nair, M.D., associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology in the Margaret A. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine. Together, they provided an overview of Baylor’s achievements in cardiac health, particularly with groundbreaking devices.
An event highlight was Dr. Nair’s explanation of the BiVACOR total artificial heart—invented by a team at Baylor and the Texas Heart Institute. The BiVACOR uses a simplified blood pump apparatus to provide circulation to the heart and lungs. It has no valves, and a motor drives a single magnetically levitated rotor to pump blood for the patient. The purpose of the device is twofold: to use it as a bridge in the most extreme cases of heart failure, replacing the patient’s heart while waiting for a donor heart, and to protect a patient’s quality of life in the interim. The BiVACOR heart has only one “drive line” that draws power to function, and while the patient is tethered to the power source, the single drive line enables the patient to have increased freedom of movement. It is a stark contrast to earlier models that greatly restricted a patient’s mobility.
“There are not enough donor hearts to go around,” Dr. Nair said. “And so, this artificial heart is something that will hopefully innovate the field and replace heart transplants in the future.”
Dr. Loor, who also is the surgical director of the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center Lung Transplantation Program, is credited as the first surgeon in the U.S. to utilize portable ex vivo lung perfusion for a donation after cardiac death (DCD) lung transplantation, which set a new standard for the conduct of DCD lung and heart transplants. He also is credited with performing the first “breathing lung transplantation” in the Midwest and in Texas. These procedures were performed with the assistance of a highly sophisticated device that keeps donor lungs ventilated with blood pumping through them. This makes operation logistics easier by increasing the time an organ can be kept viable as well as allowing Dr. Loor and his team greater insight into the functional ability of each lung.
“It’s definitely a step forward in our ability to expand the lung donor pool,” Dr. Loor said.
After an engaging question and answer session about the near- and long-term implications of these devices for cardiac health, Dr. Klotman concluded the event with a message of gratitude for Baylor’s supporters.
“Philanthropy plays a huge role in starting new programs and projects, and we appreciate the support you give to us,” he said. “It makes a difference.”
To learn more about how Baylor is delivering tomorrow’s medicine today for cardiac patients, please visit our website, which includes On The Frontline event photos, a recording of the panel discussion and other resources.
