The first man to be fitted with an autonomous artificial heart says he is still getting used to the way it feels. 鈥淚t feels real heavy,鈥� said 59-year-old Robert Tools from Franklin, Kentucky, in his first public remarks on Tuesday.
鈥淭he biggest thing is getting used to not having a heartbeat, just a whirring sound. That鈥檚 how I realise I鈥檓 alive, because I can hear it without a stethoscope.鈥�
It has been 51 days since surgeons Laman Gray and Robert Dowling replaced Tools鈥檚 heart with an artificial heart in a 10 hour operation on 2 July in the Jewish Hospital at Louisville, Kentucky.
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Tools was suffering from congestive heart failure and doctors expected him to live for less than a month. The surgeons said his progress since the operation had exceeded all expectations. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been doing very, very well,鈥� said Gray, 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen any problems with the internal controller.鈥�
The heart, made by Massachusetts-based company Abiomed, is powered by a 450 gram internal battery implanted in Tools鈥� rib cage. It can be recharged across his skin by a 900 gram booster battery that he carries around under his shirt. Without the booster, the internal battery lasts just 30 minutes, enough time to take a short walk or a shower.
He seemed weak but alert as he addressed reporters at a press conference. 鈥淚 thought I could sit at home and die or come here and take a chance,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I realise death is inevitable.鈥�